Too Soon for Snow Days!

What a surprise snowstorm we got last weekend!  When we left on Friday no one thought we would see much, if any, snow, and if we did, it would get washed away by rain.  So, on Tuesday, we were shocked to have the first of what we hope won't be too many snow days this winter!  

Because of the Tuesday snow day, we didn't get to take our trips to drop off the food donations or go bowling and have lunch choice or visit with Christina at the Art Museums.  We were able to reschedule the food donation drop off for Friday, but it will be 2019 before we make it back to bowling or to see Christina. 😞

Wednesday began beautifully when Sam's mom sent in donations of fresh hot dog buns for the food pantry at Grove Christian Outreach (GCO).  Unfortunately, the storm caused the cancellation of her neighborhood party and the buns weren't needed.  Wednesday is GCO's Bread Day, so we were happy to run Sam and his buddy Dev down to make the fresh delivery.  We will take the rest of our donations on Friday, and it will take every set of hands we have to carry it all!!

Ruth at GCO happily accepted the hot dog buns!

Can you believe it was already time to assemble the January mailing for The Arc?!  Seems like we just did December's!  One of the highlights in January is a fun night with the W&M Men's and Women's Tennis Teams.  They always provide fun games and activities, and they're fun to hang out with, too!  Be sure to check the calendar and send it back to Bette Faye with your choices by the due date of December 28!

Look who volunteered to get a head start on our pasta lunch for Thursday!  Devin eagerly volunteered to brown the ground beef.

We had our last yoga session of 2018 with Patti.  She lead us through some "elf" moves that included catching snow to make snowballs.

We were pretty good at elf dancing but had to be careful not to trip over those funky elf shoes with the curled up ends!

Throwing our snowballs at each other was fun!

We gave Patti a treat basket and wished her the happiest of holidays.  She was excited!

There was time after yoga to complete a quick project.  We still needed decorations for our room...

And Santa needed some reindeer!!  Thanks, Kate, for the cute idea!

On Thursday we created these cute Santas using red napkins and some felt pieces that Kacie's Aunt Wendy sent to us, all the way from California! The Santa doubles as a napkin ring...or a finger puppet!! Thanks Aunt Wendy, for thinking of us AND for pre-cutting the pieces!  We had fun making them!

The guys had fun with Santa, too!

Also on Thursday, a couple of our friends from Anheuser-Busch, Cristin and Samantha, stopped by to do some crafting with us.  They had to reschedule from Wednesday, but we didn't mind.  Especially when we saw the fun craft idea they had!

Samantha helped Bo make sure he covered all areas of this part of the project with red paint.  Liz helped Xavier, and Sam smiled because his was done!

Over at this table, Cristin helped these guys with the second part of the project...stuffing pom-poms into a clear ornament ball.  Then, she hot-glued the two parts together for everyone.

Ta-da!  Aren't these gumball machine ornaments super fun?!  Thank you, Cristin and Samantha!  We love these!!

We shared our pasta lunch with Cristin and Samantha, but they got a call from work and had to rush off after eating and before we got a picture with them.  They said they would love to come back for another project, so we'll make sure we get a great picture with them then!

During Choice Time, we set up another craft project that this group of friends had fun putting together with Laura, whose mom sent it in for us.  They assembled snowmen, penguins, and snowflakes!  Thanks, Mrs. P., for thinking of us, too!  We appreciate all of our family members and friends who help make our program fun and engaging!

Since we missed bowling on Tuesday because of the weather, we didn't get to deliver our special Christmas card.  So a few of us stopped by on the way home Thursday and were lucky to get to see both Ed and Autumn.  Autumn took Dallas' place, and she's pretty cool and very helpful!  (But we really miss Dallas, so we are planning to visit him at the York Lanes in January!)

While at the bowling center, we also ran into Arc Board Member Erin, who was there for some holiday fun with her coworkers!  She was happy to see us!!

Friday we celebrated a successful Holiday Food Drive when we took all these donations to Grove Christian Outreach!  Isn't this proof that the actions of a "few" can make a difference for "many?"  We are a small program, but we made a big contribution today!  What isn't easily seen on the shelf and floor behind us is our 234 POUNDS of nonperishable food donations!  We exceeded our goal of 200 pounds!  YAY!  Thank you to all of our families and friends who helped make this possible.  Ruth at GCO said it was simply "a blessing."

We spread some holiday cheer at Eaton when we stopped by to deliver a Christmas card and some goodies for their break room.  Jorie wasn't available, but James happily welcomed us and accepted our greetings on behalf of his coworkers.  He told us, "Looking forward to our continued partnership in 2019!"  So are we, James!

When we got back to the center, we had to put some finishing touches on our decorations and bake a couple of different kinds of cookies for our party on Wednesday.  Sam got to try a skill that was new to us...cutting cold butter into cubes.  He was working on a shortbread recipe.

Kacie also tried something new - covering baking pans with parchment paper that likes to roll up on you!  She was working on a recipe for chocolate mint cookies.  We baked and froze our two kinds of cookies.  You'll have to check next week's blog and our party pics to see how they turned out! 

We have had opportunites to make several ornaments this season.  This last one we worked on was a clear plastic ball filled with paper in the colors of The Arc:  blue and orange.  This group was very focused on getting the strips of paper inside the holes on the balls. We also wrote our names on them with glitter glue.  They will serve to remind us that we're proud members of The Arc of Greater Williamsburg!

Meanwhile, over on the other side of the room this group was working on a gift for our families.  We can't reveal too much about it...but it looks like we may be thinking snow again!

At the end of the day, we played a game of Hangman to reveal where our Mystery Trip on Tuesday will be.  Each year during the holidays we try to go somewhere a little extra special as a treat for our hardworking associates.  In our first year, 2016, we went to the Kimball Theater for a special screening of "The Polar Express" followed by lunch at Sal's.  Last year, we were awarded a scholarship to the Virginia Living Museum which included a showing of their holiday laser light show!  Both of these trips were a lot of fun.  

But this year, we're doing something quite different.  Carol has invited us to her new home, where she has a basement Lisa calls "Party Central," and we're going to have a movie party!  "Party Central" includes a home theater!  As you can see in this picture, our guys figured it out way before the man got hung!

We will also play games, dance, and enjoy pizza for lunch.  When the gang found out what the Mystery Trip was, this is how they reacted.  We think they're excited!!

Thank you, Carol and family, for opening your home to us.  We will enjoy this "pre-party" to our "official party" on Wednesday! 

On a sad note, please keep our friend Cameron and his family in your thoughts as they mourn the loss of his beloved grandmother.  They have been in Maine all week, and will remain there next week. We love and miss you, Cameron. 💙

We are looking forward to our final days of 2018 next week!  We will be in session Tuesday and Wednesday, and here's how we will be sending out the year:

Tuesday:  It's Holiday Trip Day 2018 and this year we are going to Carol's beautiful new home for Movie Day!  We will watch a fun holiday movie followed by games, music, treats, and pizza for lunch!  🎄🍕

Wednesday:  Today we will have our annual Holiday Office Party!  We will have lots of fun activities, dancing, more games (including some active ones!), and of course, our Potluck Luncheon!  Feel free to wear your favorite holiday fashions..."ugly" or not! Remember to bring your dish and the Secret Santa gift for the friend whose name you picked!! 🎅🎁


From all of us at the Arc of Abilities, we wish you a joyful holiday season! 

We'll see you back here the week of January 2, 2019!

Lisa, Carol, and Nan