Letters to Compassion Children

Do you sponsor a child through Compassion International? Have you checked out the web site recently to see how they've updated the online letter writing options to your child?

You can now choose different templates for the paper and even upload up to 3 photos! I'm so thrilled because by the time we hand-write a letter, I find a place to print out photos, send it all back through the diplomatic pouch to the States and have it make its way to the CO office and then on to India for translation and delivery, it seems like it is FOREVER!! And of course, this means, we'll get letters back from our sweet Padmani much faster, too!

Let me encourage you to write a letter to your child today if you haven't done so in a while! And if you are interested in investing in the life of a child, click on the above link or on the one on the left hand sidebar to take you to Compassion's site where you can learn more about this amazing sponsorship opportunity. If you don't think monthly sponsorship is an option for you now, consider donating toward the fund for Christmas gifts; each child- sponsored and non- in the development centers will receive a gift.

An Opportunity to Give

I wanted to share an opportunity for giving to the needy here in Ukraine. I am not a part of this particular group, but I know a lot of the American ladies and some of the internationals that are members; many in our embassy community donate to the holiday bazaar. This is a huge event here and the proceeds go to wonderful causes.

My friend, Colleen, is heading up the American booth this year and I asked her to send a copy of the letter she has sent out to her friends and family to post. I have omitted the contact information, so if you wish to participate, please e-mail me directly for an address so we don't have that floating all over cyberspace. Note that this is NOT international mailing- I will be giving you our Virginia address where our mail is sorted before being flown over to the embassy. mrsyellowhat @ yahoo dot com

Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this! Please feel free to link to it- the more donations, the better (and perhaps we can beat out France and Italy for a change!)!!


May this find you well and enjoying the beginning of autumn in the states. Kyiv has been lovely with sunny skies, yet we can feel winter is on the way. As you may know, I am living in Ukraine this year. It is an interesting country—full of history and culture—but also has some of the neediest people with the least resources. More than 90% of the population of Ukraine is in the needy or low paid segments.

While I am here, I am involved in a wonderful charity organization called International Women’s Club of Kyiv (IWCK). IWCK is a non-profit whose aim is to support local Ukrainian organizations that work directly with the elderly, disabled, children, and women. IWCK delivers groceries to the elderly and homebound, gathers and distributes donations to orphanages and homes, and since 2005 has an amazing grant program. In 2011, our grant programs included medical equipment for children with cancer, an interactive computer system for children with Down syndrome, education for hearing-impaired children, and a horse-riding program for children with cerebral palsy. If you would like to see some of the lives we have touched, please “meet” them here.

The money for these programs and many others mainly comes from a holiday bazaar we hold in December. At the bazaar, each country has a booth where they sell items that can be hard to find here. All of the proceeds go toward our charity work. Thanks to generous donations from so many people last year, we raised nearly $7,000 at the USA booth alone, and are working hard to do better this year.

Making a donation to this year’s USA booth is easy! You can choose one of two ways:

1. Make a cash donation. Just pop a check in the mail today. Make the check out to Colleen Smith, and put IWCK in the memo. You can mail the check to me here. We will use your donation to purchase peanut butter through our commissary to sell at the bazaar. If you chose to send a check, please mail it by Halloween so we can make our exciting peanut butter order. It is our biggest seller!!

2. Make a donation of supplies to sell at the booth. You can go to the post office, get a prepaid priority box, fill it with some of the items I have listed below and mail it to me. Or have your favorite online website (like Amazon) deliver it instead!
• BROWNIE MIX
• FROSTING
• CAKE MIXES (chocolate and vanilla only)
• PANCAKE MIX or BISQUICK
• CHOCOLATE CHIPS
• HALLOWEEN SIZED BAGS of CANDY
• PEPPERMINT CANDY and CANDY CANES
• ENGLISH LANGUAGE BOOKS OF ANY TYPE. THESE COMPLETELY SOLD OUT LAST YEAR AS THEY ARE HARD TO FIND IN KYIV!!!! {note from Tara- these can be used!}

The postage will only cost what it is to ship to my mailing address in Virginia. Please send donated goods by early November, so that they will be received for the bazaar in early December. {another note from T- it takes 4-6 weeks, so by Nov. 1!}

It really is just that easy. We cannot do what we do without the support of you!!! I need your help. This charity is near and dear to my heart. I really feel it is important to help Ukrainians in need while I am living here. [Colleen]


Again, contact me for an address if you wish to donate!

Birthday Wishes

I'm pretty organized, but sometimes it is just plain hard to get cards out 3 weeks in advance to ensure they are on time to the recipient in the States! Thank goodness for Shutterfly! They make sending cards easy, quick, and affordable!

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Happy Birthday to Uncle B!

"Maa-maa!! I'm Duh-unnnnnn!!!": Confessions of a Home Schooling Mom

Nope, he wasn't duh-un as in finished with his school work. Actually, he was in the bathroom and was calling me to help clean up the dirty work if you know what I mean.

Which led me to the thought I've had numerous times since my son started kindergarten several weeks ago: what in the world would he do in a different schooling situation?!? And wow! I taught school myself, but the youngest I had were 4th graders and they had this down by then (as far as I knew!). Surely I am not the only mother who is still training her child to take care of business and when these kids go to school, who helps them?! If you are a teacher and graciously take on this service of love, you have my utmost respect!

But back to my kid. I'm just thankful {when I stop to remember I am- because when will he get this?!} that I have the opportunity to wipe the child's hiney myself and coach him on the finer points.

I have a long list of reasons why I enjoy educating our kids at home in addition to the above. Here are a sampling:

• I can come to work in my pjs if I absolutely have to. As a rule, I get up 2 hours before the kids and work out, shower and dress, and have time to read and pray before we start breakfast; I'm a huge proponent of mind, body, and soul preparation! But, the option is there!
• I can multi-task. I give spelling tests while I cook, I throw in a load of laundry while one has seat work, I can fold a load of clothes while I teach fractions, or fix lunch while discussing a story that had been assigned.
• I can actually take a bathroom break whenever.I.need.one.
• I don't need a code for my copy machine.
• Parent-teacher conferences are a breeze! And the principal is definitely my pal!
• When I have a behavior problem with one of my students, I have the authority to administer swift and appropriate discipline. Occassionally, I do write an e-mail or text to the principal asking for a little relief or back-up over the lunch hour.
• I always get to go on the field trips.
• Even though I technically don't have sick days to stay home, I can still teach from the comfort of my own bed or sofa.
• I get to snuggle up in a chair with warm, cuddly little kids when we read- textbooks or stories.
• Then I can put them to bed and take a nap in the middle of the day.
• And, last but certainly not least on my short list, I thoroughly enjoy getting to be the one to see the light bulbs go on. It is seriously any teacher's "high." Like when this little guy directed play time with his little sister after learning about life in medieval times. My heart just swelled as I listened to him incorporate the information into his make-believe!
  
  

I'm thrilled I get to live inside their castle every day!

First Bell

Last week I mentioned that one of the reasons Mr. YH had a business trip was because he was part of the official U.S. delegation at the First Bell ceremony in Ochakiv, Ukraine. Before I bombard you with a slew of pictures, let me give two pieces of background so that you can better appreciate them.

The United States government has Offices of Defense Cooperation in countries all over the world. Mr. YH works in this office. Part of his work entails overseeing the Humanitarian Assistance program here in Ukraine. The U.S. government has people and procedures in place to award funds to various projects for humanitarian reasons.

This particular school in Ochakiv (southern Ukraine where the Dneiper River meets the Black Sea) was awarded a grant to completely redo the facade of the school on all sides, replace the roof, build awnings, and fix the gymnasium. Jose told me that when the contractors began working, huge chunks of plaster fell off- they had to go down to the original brick and completely redo everything. I think you'll see that it looks amazing now. And if you've ever been to a former Soviet country that hasn't quite lept into the current century yet, you'll agree that little village schools (or most buildings) don't typically look like this. For 2+ months, many citizens would just stand and watch them work on the school. There were so many people at this ceremony-it seemed like the whole town was there!

Secondly, Slavic nations traditionally start school on September 1. They have a "First Bell" ceremony in which the youngest child coming into the first class and the oldest child in the senior class walk around the school yard ushering in the new year by the ringing of a bell. There are poems, speeches, and various other traditions typical to the region and country. Parents whose children are going to school are allowed to miss work to go to the ceremony- it's a big deal. I really enjoyed myself and thought that it is too bad that we Americans don't have something like this to commerate the first day of school in the lives of families.

Ochakiv School #2

380 students, ages 6-17

55 staff members

Official U.S. delegation

Three proud citizens who dressed up for the occassion. They strategically waited until the last possible second to move right infront of the entire U.S./Ukrainian VIPs for the ceremony! It would have not been too big of a deal, but they stood right in front of my kids who then had a hard time seeing.

Members of the first class filing out with their teachers. The white hair poms are a traditional must for girls on the first day of school.

The dancing was my favorite part and these kids were fantastic! I loved the colorful costumes, the ribbons flying, and the smiling faces as they whirled around!

It is tradition in Ukraine that when a guest comes that they are presented with bread and salt on an embroidered cloth (хліб-сіль).

Col. P flew down from EUCOM in Germany.

Close-up of the bread.

First bell ringing-

the first graders held onto streamers with little bells,

and the older student had the big one.

First graders walk under arch

created by the senior class.

After the ceremony outdoors, we met inside for the typical refreshments and toasting.

One of the first grade classes.

A fourth grade class.

This is the most decorated Ukrainian classroom I've ever seen.

Love those white pom poms!

Do you see all the flower bouquets?

All of the children come to school with them for their teacher.

Little YHs enjoying some first grade cake.

They were troopers- we had to get up so early

that we didn't have time for breakfast except

some dry cereal in the van.

I Can't Win

The Ukrainians are intent on pointing out my bad parenting (their perception).

Duing the summer months here, there are very few that haven't spent time at their dacha or been to the sea. One might ascertain that the majority of people in country- from toddlers to elderly- are as brown as a ginger cookie by the end of August. While we were in Crimea, I was accosted numerous times by the babushkas on the street as to why my children are so white. I'd listen politely to the chastisement, nod and smile, and offer up, "Our choices are red or white," as way of an apology.

We found that fall had indeed arrived to Kyiv upon our return. After 10 days of beautiful weather along the Black Sea, we were chilled as we got out of the van! On Sunday, everyone had a jacket or sweater as we went off to church. On the way home, Big Girl had removed her sweater because things had warmed up and the van was toasty after sitting in the sun a couple of hours. The concierge let me in the door and immediately began fussing at me that it was cold- and what was I thinking as I let that child out with bare arms?!

After years of experience with the babas on this very issue, I shrugged my shoulders and told her I had provided the clothing; she chose not to wear it. She let it go at that because I think she is smitten with Baby Girl, but it certainly won't stop us from making the kids wear enough clothing to overheat just so we can escape future tirades!

Yesterday as we were tumbling out the door to go downstairs to the playground, our neighbor (tighty-whitey man) was just returning home. He fussed at me about the kids having jackets on because, "It's HOT!" {Smile, nod, give the guilty bad parent look, smile again.} As we got in the elevator and I about gagged on the B.O. still hanging stagnate in the air, I decided I could almost believe him.

September in Sevastopal

Mr. Yellow Hat was part of the official delegation to an event last week

in the southern part of the country, and this week he has business in Sevastopal. He wanted the whole family to make the trip to Crimea, and so once I decided to quit my inner whining about the work involved to get us all here and to enjoy the {possibly} last trip we'll have to the Crimean peninsula, we made it happen.

So here we are, enjoying beautiful Sevastopal on the Black Sea.

We had a few days between events to take some leave

(vacation time in military vernacular).

Sevastopal houses the Black Sea Fleet. During Soviet times, the city was closed- even to Ukrainians. It's a hot tourist destination now. The kids' favorite thing is this huge anchor in a park near our hotel.

Sailors with some shore time-

not sure if they're Russian or Ukrainian.

Babuskas providing some local entertainment to earn a little extra.

We've seen plenty of examples of what not to wear.

We've also enjoyed beautiful sunsets daily.