OSCARSON FAMILY CHRISTMAS PARTY WITH THE KOLPAKOV, GOLOVENKOV AND SIVIRIDOV FAMILIES

Bear with me and I will try to have all our holiday pictures posted by spring!  This was our fun party with 3 special families.  Pres. & Sis. G. are on the couch to the left with their Misha standing by door and their Paulina in white sweater.  They are expecting another in May.  Pres. & Sis. S. are in middle of picture with Katya in the black sweater in very middle.  Bro. & Sis. K are to the far right and far left of the picture (he with red tie).  Their son, and his girlfriend visiting from Ukraine, are seen in other pictures.  They are all long time stalwarts in the church in Volgograd.

Enjoying Swedish meatballs, Russian salad & American breadsticks!
Olga K. does not like her picture taken.
What fun they had with our traditional candy bar game.
Even Olga got into it!
They are very competitive!
Will Paulina get some this time?
Pavel has some in his mouth!
Then of course, the traditional left/right pass the gift game (a shorter version that Katya translated).  Tatiana was thrilled to end up with the most heavy and beautiful gift.....
...that contained a wrench (that she couldn't keep) and a small candy bar (that she could).
Happy with their treats!

Everyone got one.
Let's see what you got, Paulina and Pavel!
Dessert time:  Left over breadsticks and holly wreaths and treats they brought!
Always plenty of food and treats and fun, just like at home (kind of)!

HOLIDAY CELEBRATION IN KRASNOARMESKY

We got back from Rostov in time to attend the branch celebration in Krasnoarmesky.

Waiting for the evening to begin.
The food was on the table when we arrived.
Of course, there were Christmas carols.
These 4 sisters looked like princesses.  All the little girls had on gowns or very fancy dresses.
They acted out a Russian fairytale...
......with all the traditional characters.
The evening ended with dancing.
The only decorated tree outside our building.  It isn't

 growing, it was just stuck in the snow.  The lights greeted us everytime we turned the corner.  The wind also greets us year round every time we turn the corner.  In the summer it is welcome, in the winter, it is brrrrrrrr!
The lovely tree by our elevators.  

WELCOMING IN 2010!!

The Sviridovi family invited us over to help them decorate their New Year's tree and for a New Year's Eve dinner.

First on the agenda was to decorate the tree.
Mission accomplaished! L to R: Katya, Sasha, Tatiana, Feoder, Sis. O & Elder O.
Next we played a Christmas game.  The girl's team won!
Next, a meal fit for a king.
At each place was a Russian hot pot.  Take the lid off and discover what is inside.....
Very HOT, but delicious.  There was beef on the bottom with potatoes and onions on top and a dab of sour cream, then baked in oven.
Cooling each bite off before eating.
Then we had to find our gifts under the tree.  We received a little plate and stand with a Russian winter scene and a pattern for me to cross stitch of another Russian winter scene.  We were very happy.
Mrs. Santa delivered gifts to her family.
They were all happy to get boxes filled with their favorite candy.
Being in their home and feeling their love really put us in the holiday spirit.  We had to be back in our apartment by 5PM, before all the wildness on the streets.  We were obedient and had a quiet New Year's eve until midnight.
An hour's worth of fireworks (this one from our parking lot) followed.  We could see fireworks for miles in all directions up and down the Volga from our balcony and the balcony on the other side of the building.

HAPPY 2010 EVERYONE!!!