Angel Rachel.

Rachel, the red-antlered reindeer - note the bells on top tht jingle as she runs - delightful to her and us.

Reindeer Grandma B with Angel Anna.

Betty made Christmas birdfeeders with the girls and hung them on an outdoor tree - they loved it.

I love these "artsy" pics of Anna.

Cousin Liza opens her glow-in-the-dark bear. The girls got matching ones from Nana and love them. They now HAVE to have two special blankets, their lambys AND their bears to go to sleep - getting more complicated :)

Rachel lays one on Liza.

Rachel sporting her new hat hand-made with love.

Rachel waits for Uncle J to finish freeing her new "pooter" (short for computer) from its packaging.

All the lip gloss from Aunt B was a HUGE hit.

After much effort, a half-decent Hoyt/Goodrich Christmas portrait.

Anna and Rachel enjoyed their first full-length film "The Grinch" on Christmas night and laughed hysterically every time the Grinch made funny face or ran into something and yelled "doggie" or "goggie" every time tht dog showed up.

Anna giving Aunt Barbara love during the movie.

One of the girls' favorite Christmas presents was this pretty blue tissue paper - they used it like magic carpets.

Grandma B tries to convince Rachel to try on her new hat Aunt Barbara made - it worked :)

Marg and her husband pastor a tender regugee-focused church in town and are dear friends and mentors for us (Dave will literally be mentoring Adam through seminary this next semester). Marg's showing off her winning White Elephant gift of Crest White Strips :)

Annie and Valerie, a friend, a teacher ini our ESL program, and a mother of Jeremy, one of Rachel and Anna's friends.

For Christmas, Nana (my mom) gave the girls candy necklaces. Here is Rachel after a day of wearing the necklace finally discovering that it was edible! She ate the WHOLE thing in two minutes flat.

Mommy and Rachel wrestling at Jason's Christmas night.

Rachel confused Mommy's mascara for lipstick - oops!

Sorority smiles - Beth is a co-worker in Clarkston and a joy to my heart.

Trina, Zeny, Annie, and their husbands are serving in Clarkston for a year and living in community (meaning one apartment!) - thanks for all you add to our life here!

Tiffany (left) lives 3 doors down from me and has been a treasure over our year and a half in Clarkston - she's pregnant with her fourth and looking for a house in town, so we'll SO miss being neighbors but will still be in small group together.

Dora -one of the many adorable Burundian children who play with us every evening in the parking lot.

The girls (Rachel right, Anns left) are learning to enjoy longer and longer rides with Daddy in the trailer.

Me with my FAVORITE artist Sara Groves - going to hear her in Augusta was my Christmas present, and I HAD to get my pic with her - such a groupie :) Check her and others like her out at www.pandora.com - it's free (commerciala-free!) radio that chooses songs you'd like based preferences you list - I LOVE it and am being introduced to amazing new music all for free.

Wei Bao was Adam's roommate back when we first started dating and is a good friend. He moved back to China, got married, has a baby, and works for a German escalator company. We hadn't seem him in YEARS, and he stopped in for a weekend while in town for a business meeting. The girls loved him and we soaked up our time with him. Thanks for coming, Wei!

We've been spending a lot of time at Stone Mountain park recently. The Christmas lights and entertainment have been dazzling, and we love to watch it "snow" at the end :)

A rare mountainn-top diaper change.

Clarkston Fire 12/19

There was a terrible fire in the Brannon Hill condo complex in Clarkston Wed, Dec. 19th. Most of the families displaced by the fire were Somali refugees who had been in America for several years now, and there were less than a handful of Americans who were residents at the complex. Thankfully no one was hurt! There is an updated article about the incident at the 11 Alive News web site. Here is the link: http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=108355

The Red Cross was able to provide for only 1 night in a hotel for those who had no place to stay and they are now all living with friends and family. Please pray for one woman in particular, who you will see mentioned in the article. She has been so distraught that she is refusing to stay anywhere other than her home, so she is (or at least was) sleeping in her car near the burned building. Many of the families were Muslim, and the fire happened on a day that they hold as a very special holiday- Ciidwayneey, for Somali speaking people- also known as Eid al-Adha. This is the day of a great animal slaughter which is a commemoration of Ibrahim 's (Abraham's) willingness to sacrifice his son under the order of Allah. The people I spoke with found it very difficult to have such a tragedy of such a special holiday. The families need the following items as soon as possible:

1)Deposit and rent money for new apartments – housing is a first priority as most families are large and staring with friends and family is not sustainable. Checks can be written to Refugee Family Services and sent to:
Refugee Family Services:
Attn: 12/19 Fire Victim FundAsma Mohamud5561-H Memorial DriveStone Mountain, GA 30083

2) School supplies- many of the children lost all they had for school. Here are some suggestions: Backpacks, notebooks, paper, calculators, pencils and pens, crayons, markers, and misc desk supplies (scissors, glue, etc)

3) Kitchen supplies-Dishes, utensils, cups and glasses, cookware, cooking utensils, dish towels, storage containers, etc

4)Bedding-Blankets, air mattresses (and air pumps). sheets, towels, pillows, etc

5) Diapers, games, toys, warm children's clothing.

* If you have furniture you want to donate you will need to contact Asma Mohamud (below), as it will be up to RFS as to how they want to handle larger items in respect to the timing of these families obtaining alternate housing. From what I was told through Refugee Family Services this is the most immediate need.

Items can be dropped off at the address above. Phone number and email contacts are below.
Refugee Family Services404-299-6218 ext. 246
hilalm@refugeefamilyservices.org
www.refugeefamilyservices.org
Please label all bags or boxes with donations to Asma Mohamud re: Fire Victims