Christmas gift?

So we were in the grocery store the other day and saw these cute stuffed cows on sale. We were talking about buying gifts for the Toys for Tots collection. Landon and I looked at the cows and both thought they were cute. I grabbed a white, yellow and orange one and put them in the cart. Once they were in the cart, I got another look at them. What? What was that? Look at the pictures to see what I am talking about.

Thanksgiving

Being overseas for Thanksgiving is tough! It's just not the same as being home! I have to work each Thanksgiving day and we end up having our dinner on the weekend. That isn't the problem. The problem is football! Watching the parade and football games that follow in the evening is no fun! I only made it through half the Detroit-Tennessee game before I fell asleep! Some would say that is because it was a horribly one-sided game that put many to sleep, but still. It isn't right! Thanksgiving is about being with family, cooking, eating, watching the Macy's parade and then watching football! Next year, we will be able to celebrate the day as it is meant to be celebrated! I can't wait!

There are many things I am thankful for this year (and every year)...

I am thankful for:

• Landon
• Laura Rose
• Benjamin Paul
• my mom
• my brothers
• my nephews
• my cousin Marc and his wife and baby
• my job
• my health
• my friends far and near
• Ms. Olga
• the fact that I am an American
• the opportunities I have had in life
• American football
• Fantasy football
• my sanity!
• all that my parents taught me
• the ability to laugh
• my computer (and the internet)

and the list goes on...Life stinks sometimes, but overall, life is good! And for that I am truly thankful!

One of the things that makes our country so great is that we have the opportunity to participate in elections. While not everyone's candidate can win, we can rest in the fact that we have fair and democratic elections. The people of America have spoken and have elected Senator Barack Obama as our next President. Congratulations, newly elected President Obama. I pray your term is successful.

Fall Break

This week the kids and I were on Fall Break. We headed to Western Ukraine on Saturday for a short visit to L'viv. L'viv is the western capital of Ukraine. It has a long history as part of Poland. It was very evident to us on this trip that L'viv is more European than any other city in Ukraine. We were amazed by the churches. The last time we visited L'viv was over 10 years ago and those churches were still closed. Now many are open and restored. Here are just a few of the 500+ photos I took. You can see more on my Picasa site. Enjoy

Statue of Ukrainian poet and hero, Taras Shevchenko. Behind him is a statue to the victims of the Holodymr in 1932-33

Something spooked the pigeons in front of the opera

This mural is incredible. It is in the Armenian church. The church was used for storage during the Soviet times. Amazingly it survived.

Not too far from our hotel was the Polish cemetery. It was incredibly beautiful and peaceful.

On the way home we took the "country" roads and saw this man with all those pumpkins. His cart is being drawn by a horse.

I have news......

This morning Landon accepted a job in Washington, DC. There is the possibility to extend for one more year. We are all thrilled about the opportunity to be back in the US for a couple of years!

Now we have to: find a house and a job for me, get the kids registered for school, find a football team and dance class for the kids, buy a car, buy new towels and sheets....and on and on!

What a busy two weeks...

First I, Christina, went to Marrakesh, Morocco via London for a conference. I stopped over in London for the day and met up with a friend. She was one of my first students in Nigeria. Today she is a successful and beautiful woman. I am so proud of her!

I went to Marrakesh for the IB Coordinators and Heads conference. It is a bi-annual event. I looked forward to it for a year and can not say I was disappointed in the least. The keynote speakers and sessions were incredible and inspiring. Marrakesh a colorful and busy city. Above is a picture for a cultural evening we were treated to and a man I met in the market. He asked if I wanted to take his picture. I said, "Sure!" Afterwards, he wanted a little "something" for his time. For more pictures of Marrakesh, see my Picasa album.

On the way home, I had to stop over in London again (oh nuts) and decided to invited the family to join me. They flew into to London a couple of hours before I did and together we went into town to explore. London is not a city that can be seen in two days! We tried and we know. There are too many exciting and new experiences. That said, we had a full two days and the kids got a good idea of the awesomeness of London. Again, lots of photos can be found in my Picasa album.


When I returned to school I learned that my boyfriend of over two years, was leaving our school and returning to his home country of Germany. Julius told his mother once that he wanted me to come over and run naked in the garden with him. While I was tempted, I refrained! The first time I met her, she said, "So you are my future daughter-in-law?" Julius is a lover boy and I will miss him.




And finally, the four pictures show how and where Ben and I spent our day. We went with the fifth grade classes to a children's rehabilitation center for street children here in Kiev. The center is run by and American and Swiss woman who came here as missionaries. We have been out there before, but this is the first time we did some work and played! The center's kids were nervous about us being there at first, but in the end, they raked leaves with us and played soccer with the boys. It was an amazing day of giving back! Guess where there are more pictures???


No word on our next assignment yet! Our fingers are crossed for Washington!

Just a few things to share

This isn't something you will see often in our house. Francesca (the dark one) is ALWAYS near me and sleeps on this sofa which is next to my computer. Olivia usually sleeps in the kids' room or the dining room. Well, she wanted to be near her mama too, so she took the risk and curled up next to Frannie. Neither bothered the other for hours. In the end, the dinner bell woke both.

I came home from work the other day and Olga, our housekeeper, was telling me all about her day. She took me into the dining room and showed me these flowers. She said there were tomatoes inside! I said, "Really? Can you eat them?" To which Olga replied, "Yes, but you don't have to!" Aah! The joys of conversing in a language other than your own. What I meant when I asked if you can eat them is are they edible? What Olga understood was, "Can I have some for dinner?"

Another reason we love Olga so much is she made us three huge jars of homemade pickles! She got tired of buying them in the market for us, so she made us some. She keeps them at her summer house and when she is driven to town (as opposed to taking the bus) she brings them in. They are wonderful! Very garlicky!

Laura and I went for a walk today to buy souvenirs for some friends I will see next week. It was such a gorgeous day. I got some great pictures of St. Andrews. Here is one!

Next Saturday I am heading to London for a day and then on to Marrakesh, Morocco. I am going for an IB conference. It will be an amazing experience. When I return to London, Landon and the kids will join me for the weekend in London. I am so excited! Look for pictures on my Picasa site!

OH RATS!

It all started last week when as I was driving to work, I noticed one of my headlights was out. In my eyes, this is the same as walking around with your fly open! I immediately called Landon and asked him to contact the mechanic! We needed a new light! Fast forward a week--the days are dark and rainy and cold. The light still hasn't been fixed. I covered my embarrassment by driving around with my fog lights on instead of the headlights. Finally on Thursday I asked one of the drivers at school to have a look at the bulb and tell me where I could get another one. I was hoping he'd say, "Oh Christina, don't worry! I will buy it for you!" I would say his attitude towards helping me was mediocre at best!

Together Sasha and I went to the car and figured out how to get the bulb out. He said he'd ask around and see if he could find out where to get a bulb. Three hours later, Sasha appears at my door and said that the bulb works fine. What I needed was a new fuse! A fuse? Well, where is the fuse box? He was not going to help me find the fuses, so I just thanked him and resumed eating lunch. I knew my friend, Dan, knew all about fuses and could help me. I gave Sasha my keys and thanked him again. 15 minutes later he appears again--with someone else to translate--and said I don't need a new light and I don't need a new fuse! He said I need new wires because a cat or a rat chewed through them! So much for finishing my lunch!

I was convinced that it was a cat because I had seen several in our neighborhood. I had never seen a rat in our courtyard. I know this city of four million people has rats because I have seen their remains on the road--regularly. But never in my yard. In my mind it was a cat--not a rat. Or so I thought. This morning I was looking out the window watching my dog friends wake up. Olivia was there watching the birds and I was watching the dogs! Suddenly the birds scattered and the dogs took off chasing something. When I focused on what they were chasing, I saw that it was a big ole huge humongous rat! EEEEEWWWWWWWW!

Thankfully, Dan came to my rescue today and fixed the wires! He said he could fix it and would do it joyfully! Well, he fixed it, but I didn't see much joy. It took two hours, but in the end, all the lights work. While Dan was working, I examined the area under the hood well. I found chicken bones, bread crumbs, peanut shells, a plastic bag, and several piles of rat poop! You could see the rat prints all over the engine (it was pretty dirty).

In hindsight, I think that sucker has lived in the car for a while now. For two years, I was parked next to the two dumpsters for the building. They are emptied each evening, but I guess there was enough there to welcome the rats. The dumpsters have been moved and I hope so has the rat. I will now check on a regular basis for their return! If I see them, I am not sure what I will do!

I guess I will call Dan!

The dumpsters that used to be next to my car! No wonder I had a rat (or was it rats?)

St Andrew's church

Well the weather has changed and I fear that fall is settling in! It is cold and rainy today and the forecast is for more of the same. Yesterday we attended the annual Embassy picnic welcoming new families and saying good-bye to those heading on to their next adventure. It was overcast and chilly, but not too bad. Here are a couple of pictures of the "garden" where we picnicked!




On our way home, we were stopped at the light at the end of our street and looked to the left where the circus is and were quite surprised to see the camel looking at us! They look like they want to go for a walk!


As I reported last time, Laura and her classmates headed to Crimea for a week long bonding trip. She has made it back safely and resumed her tween like tendancies! When we went to get her at the airport a colleague of mine who traveled with the group said, "Thank you!" I asked why she was thanking me. She told me that everywhere the group traveled they had a police escort and Olga, the colleague, was sure it was me who arranged it! Well, I was concerned about the safety of the children in an area of Ukraine that is sympathetic to the Russians (in light of the current situation) and asked Landon if he can have anyone help out. Well, one phone call led to another that led to another and the next thing we knew, police escorts were arranged! Another colleague told me it was in the local newspaper that these "special guests" were provided protection!

Here are a couple of Laura's pictures from her trip! It looks like she is following in her Mama's footsteps!

Summer is over!

Summer is over and life is beginning to settle into it's familiar routines. School began last Tuesday and Ben had his first trip to the hospital on Thursday! More on that later...

Last Sunday we attended the military parade held in honor of Ukrainian Independence day. It was an eye opening experience! Here are a few pictures.







Laura has begun middle school and seems to like it. Her initial comments were, "It's awesome" and "It's sooooo easy!" Let's see what she is saying in November! All middle and high school students will go away on a bonding trip next week. Laura's class is going to the Crimea! And, yes, she will be close to the Russian naval bases. We are already lining up the Embassy security office's help in tracking the situation there. The 6th graders will go on Monday and return on Friday. The trip is well organized and full of activities for the kids. I am looking forward to the reports.

Ben is in grade five! He is across the hall from me this year. That is the closest we have ever been in school. He is usually on another floor or wing. That's a good thing for him! He has a great teacher. I know Ben will do well. He is supposed to try out for the middle school soccer team on Tuesday, but due to an unforeseen injury, he won't make it. I hope once he heals, he will be able to join the team. While playing soccer at recess on Thursday, he "couldn't stop himself" while running and tripped over a kids shoe and may have broken his toe! You'll remember he did that last year around his birthday. That one was on the other foot! This time it is the big toe! It doesn't look as bad as the last one, so I am hopeful that there is no break.

We went to the Borys clinic and had x-rays. The orthopedic doctor wasn't available, so we went across town to meet him. Come to find out the sports hospital where he was is an old run down building that has no working elevators. Hmmm...makes you wonder. The doctor didn't want Ben walking up four flights of stairs on crutches, so he said he'd come to the car. With Ben in the backseat, the doctor crawled in and examined his foot. He had a look at the x-rays in his office and said there was too much swelling to see if there is a break. We agreed to meet again in a week for another x-ray and examination. After the doctor gave Ben and me instructions, Lucy, our Embassy nurse who helped us translate, said you can pay the doctor now! I gave him UAH 200 and off he went! You have to love this country!

Landon is waiting patiently for the time to bid on our next assignment. We haven't had to do this in 6 years, so I had forgotten how nerve wracking it is. If all goes well, we will go back to DC for a couple of years and buy our first house! Yeah!

Tomorrow we will head to Dan and Natasha's dacha one last time this season. We will go to Olga's in September. I will post pictures on my Picasa site--

http://picasaweb.google.com/ChristinaTaylor2007

Hope all is well with you! Keep in touch! Christina