Thursday, February 07, 2008

NEW YEAR'S THROUGH THE AGES





HAPPY NEW YEAR - NYC STYLE

Nicki ended up being the chair of the FCC-NYC New Year's Banquet. They hadn't had a banquet in 5 years, so we brought a little bit of LA with us to the night. The biggest hit of the night was when all the kids jumped on bubble wrap to simulate firecrackers going off to ward of the evil demons.





IS THIS THING ON?

And then we squealed in fear as Michayla used the telescope as a microphone and tried out her lounge show on us.








AND A BIT MORE PRINCESS

The Princess theme spilled over to home. Michayla squealed when she opened her Dora the Explorer Back Pack. But then --







A PARTY FIT FOR A PRINCESS

Michayla is currently under the power of the Disney Princesses and wanted to have a Princess party. So we unrolled the princesses for her in-school party.































Monday, February 04, 2008

MICHAYLA'S ORPHANAGE


As most of you already know, China has been crippled by a series of freak snow storms. The damage so far has been estimated to be at $7.5 billion.

The hardest hit area is the Hunan province, and in particular -

the city of Chenzhou, where 1.2 million have been without electricity for eight days.
Chenzhou is where Michayla's orphanage is located and it is the hardest hit orphanage in all of China. According to Half the Sky
Chenzhou CWI, Hunan – still facing the most difficulties of the orphanages we’ve reached. They’ve had no electricity or running water for 8 days and there is almost no possibility that power will be restored before New Year’s Eve (the 6th of February.) Because of the blackout, the hospital is closed. The banks are closed so staff is contributing personal funds to buy food, coal and diapers. Prices are skyrocketing as all roads to Chenzhou remain impassable. Families in Chenzhou are now rationed and can only buy 4 packages of noodles per family. The Civil Affairs Bureau delivered 3 sacks of rice to the institution. They are using candles but the cost per candle has gone from 20 cents to 5 yuan (70 cents) per candle. They are using coal to keep warm but the price of coal is skyrocketing.
Half the Sky is a non-profit organization that strives to ensure that every one of China's orphans has a caring adult in her life. They have set up an emergency fund to help those affected by the snow storms. We are extremely grateful to Half the Sky and to the orphanage for all they did for Michayla. So please give if you can. If you can't give, please spread the word. Thank you.