The good news is, Kazakhstan is not nearly as cold as I thought it would be...yet. I thought it would be snowing by now, but it has been really nice during the days. Today we only needed a sweater and light jacket. The sun is still shining and no snow yet.

This week brought a few things. I had a change in job position. They needed me to switch over and teach a couple of intensive English classes. Now I'm teaching 9-year-old math and cultural studies, intensive English, and yearbook. You just never now what might come up next. Joe took on a new geography class instead of his own 13-year-old cultural studies. Things change so much in overseas schools. Staffing, especially in the middle of the year, is always a problem. We keep trying to be flexible. Too bad I spent extra time during our fall break planning for classes I no longer have.

Sophia is a big giggler these days. She laughs when I pretend to eat her fingers or when I blow on her tummy. She's really getting more expressive. She always lights up when she sees her daddy, especially when we get home from work. Her newest discovery is bath toys. She kicks as hard as she can at the little purple hippos floating at the end of her tub. Today she giggled when I sang "Do Your Ears Hang Low."

Still, people can only comment on how big she is. Today we went to a "craft" fair at the other international school in town. (I say "craft" because there weren't many crafts.) A lot of our own students and their parents were there. One parent came up to me because she hadn't seen Sophia. The first thing she said was, "She's a big one." That's my girl. That's pretty much what everyone says about her.

I was proud of myself today. I actually drove the car all the way to school. It's been really annoying because I can't drive stick shift. I've been practicing out at school, taking laps around and around the building. Today was the first day I hit the road. Driving in Kazakhstan is like the simulators we used to have in driver's ed. People dart out across the road. Traffic swerves into your lane. It's crazy, so I had to get up really early and drive when there wasn't any traffic. I made it all the way, only stalling once in an intersection.

Only four weeks until we take-off for home. We can't wait. We went and got a tiny little Christmas tree just to get us in the mood. I know, Thanksgiving hasn't come yet, but we're almost there.