Saturday, December 21, 2019

Merry Christmas 2019!



Christmas Time is Here!  All of us (staff, volunteers, and associates) are excited for the joy and fun that comes with this season.  Some of our friends talk about how quickly it seems to come each year, and we try to explain to them how that's what happens as we get older. 😔  They reply, "Well,that just makes the excitement come faster, too!" ✅  Here's what happened at the AoA during the last week in session for 2019:

On Tuesday morning we delivered our Food Drive donations to the Salvation Army.  It was pouring rain, so most of the guys stayed in the van, but Devin, Alexis, Sam, and Liz didn't mind getting wet.  We overflowed a cart with our generous donations!  Thank you so much to the AoA families for supporting this worthy cause!


After dropping off the food donations, we made our way to Carol's house for a holiday movie party.  This is the second year Carol and Gene have graciously invited us to experience a delightful day in their home, and we enjoyed it very much!   Today's special feature, as voted on by the gang last week, was Home Alone 2.  Carol's son, David, who had to zip off to work and couldn't hang out with us, set up the marquee that greeted us as we arrived at the theater.  We missed you, David!


Once we got settled into our seats, Carol introduced the movie.  Then, to our delight, once it started she served us popcorn and pretzels!  Thank you, Carol, for spoiling us.  You make it so much fun!


Kevin enjoys coming to Carol's house with his friends, but sometimes the movie experience is too loud for him.  He always has the option to work puzzles instead, which he enjoys.  Carol gave him this big one of an underwater scene, and it challenged him!  Nice job, Kevin!


Carol's son Matt chatted with us throughout our visit.  He also ran the projector and sound system during the movie.  Thanks, Matt!  We appreciate you taking care of that for us!


We're proud of our guys for being considerate of Carol's home.  They were careful not to drop food or spill drinks.  😍 We enjoyed a tasty lunch of hot from the oven pizza (from Harris-Teeter and it's tasty) and freshly tossed salad!


For dessert, we decorated brownies that were shaped like Christmas trees!


Xavier decorated gluten-free cookies in keeping with his dietary needs.


This is Drew's tree.  How cute!  The extra pieces were what he cut off of the brownie to make it more tree-shaped. We used a mini-candy cane for the trunk.  It was ALL yummy!


When Kacie needed her water bottle refilled, Matt offered to help since her bottle had a narrow opening.  He's a nice guy!


We had time for a couple of short games before we had to head back to AFCC.  In this one, we competed boys against girls to see who could name the most Christmas movies.  The final score was a tie!  We had a wonderful time, as we always do, at Carol's Movie Theater.  Thanks again, Carol and family, for welcoming us.  We truly appreciate your hospitality!


It was back to business on Wednesday.  We began the day with several projects that needed to be completed.  First up, our friend Christina was coming so we could celebrate her birthday and we needed a cake!  Nan worked with Kevin, Annmarie, and Laura to make a cinnamon bun cake, which we thought would go well with the breakfast casseroles we were making for lunch.


Elsewhere, Devin browned sausage for the casseroles.  In the background, Meemaw was in the house today...working on Eaton parts that needed gaskets!  Thank YOU, Meemaw!


Abraham was ready to add chopped peppers and onions to the casseroles.  What a colorful addition!


Patrick is an ace with the microwave, so he melted some butter which was needed for the topping on Christina's cake.


Meanwhile, we also needed to express our thoughts about our friend Christina.  We usually make cards, but today, we worked in the computer lab to write birthday letters to her!  Cameron and Kacie teamed up, as did Sam and Liz.


Chuck, from the Rotary was here, and he worked with us on Christina's letters, too.  Here, he's assisting Alexis and Drew as they write a sweet message to our friend.


Christina had a day off from the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg today, so we welcomed her for a birthday (and appreciation) lunch!  She was happy to see us, just as we were to see her!


Our casseroles, with a side of bananas, were delicious!


Christina wasn't our only guest today.  This is Erin, and she's the sister of The Arc's very own Sandy.  She was visiting from Florida and spent part of the day with us!  See that smile?  She has it on all the time!  We enjoyed getting to know her and told her she's always welcome to visit, or if she ever moves to Virginia, join the AoA!


Christina blew out the candles on her cinnamon bun cake!  We hope all your wishes come true, Christina!


It was Christina's birthday, but SHE brought gifts for US!  That's how awesome she is!  Each of the associates received a coloring book that she selected with them in mind.  Look at the joy on Annmarie's face as Christina gave her a coloring book about animals.  The one in Laura's hands had a "famous artist" theme.  Christina said Laura's use of many colors each time we work on a project makes her think of Laura as a "famous artist."  Patrick's book had a water theme, and he enjoys spending time at the lake and beach!


Christina, you are special to us.  Thank you for being our partner in art and art history at the museums for over 3 years!  You have a gift of working with people and sharing the joy of learning about Colonial times through art.  We love your lessons, and we love you!


Our afternoon wasn't over with Christina's birthday celebration.  All of the gasket work Meemaw completed needed to be delivered to Eaton.  Drew and Xavier rode over with Carol and helped James unload a few tubs.  We look forward to resuming our work at Eaton in 2020!


We also fit in some educational work!  It's been 116 years since Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully flew a mechanically-controlled, heavier than air, machine.  Since it happened in a place familiar to many of our associates, Kitty Hawk, NC, we thought we'd learn a little more about them.  


With the excitement of the holidays in the air, a lot of our guys weren't that interested in studying history today, but our guy Sam loves history anytime! Thank goodness there's always at least one! 😂


Boy, were we busy on Thursday morning!  We needed to make some sweet treats, and it took all hands on deck.  Nan's team of Kevin and Drew cranked out over 100 Rolo Pretzel Bites in less than an hour!  


It took Becky's team a little longer than an hour, but Laura, Kacie, and Annmarie worked with her to make Holiday Peppermints!  The finished product was so pretty!


Lisa's team of Liz, Abraham, and Alexis were all smiles as they rolled chocolate cookie dough around in sugar.  They were in the process of making Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms.


Carol worked with the Peanut Butter Fudge team.  Xavier, Patrick, Sam, and Devin had our room smelling good!  All of these treats were set to become a gift for our families. 😘


Speaking of families, we were visited by Laura's mom, Lisa P., today.  She brought all the supplies we needed to make Christmas Crackers, and she told us that playing with them is a custom in England.  It was interesting to learn that the English often place crackers on the plates of dinner guests, and everyone pops them open before eating.  Sounds like a lot of fun!  We planned to crack ours during our holiday party on Friday!


These were our supplies, and assembling the crackers with them was pretty easy, and a lot of fun.  Thank you, Lisa P., for getting this together for us.  You cut a ton of paper and ribbon, and supplied a lot of treats for us to put in our crackers.  Plus, you ordered the snappers so we'll be able to make lots of noise when we crack them!  We appreciate it very much!  Oh, and thanks for warning us  NOT to try and take them on a plane! 😨


Lisa P. showed us which way to turn the paper before wrapping it around the roll, and where to place the snapper.  Her directions were clear and easy to follow.  (She used to be a teacher!)


We were thankful for Becky's help all morning, both with making the sweet treats and working on the crackers.  Here, she was helping Abraham fill his cracker with prizes.  In the foreground, Devin is concentrating on correctly placing the snapper in his cracker.


There was more concentration at this table as Lisa P. assisted Patrick, Annmarie, and Laura.  Everyone made several of the crackers.  It was so much fun!


Something else that was fun on Thursday was LUNCH!  More family members, this time Coach Teri and Nina, brought us the most tasty sloppy joes for lunch!  Sloppy joes were one of Coach Teri's favorite childhood dishes.  We decided it's one of our favorite dishes, too!  Thank you so much, Teri and Nina.  This lunch really hit the spot after our very busy morning.  We appreciate your thoughtfulness!  


Nina had more surprises for us after we ate.  She brought each of the associates a cute holiday bag and let them fill it with fun gifts like pens, activity booklets, and Pez candy dispensers!  


Nina also gave us a group gift, which Devin predicted might be "money to buy more Frosties with."  He was correct!  Once again, we are so blessed by the generosity of our families.  Being able to stop for Frosties several times a year (usually after an Eaton work day) is a BIG deal.  


Thank you, Nina.  We will cherish this gift for all of 2020.  Maybe you can join us for Frosties next time you're in town!


We stuck to our agenda for Friday:  Have fun and enjoy each other's company!  Everyone brought their Secret Santa gifts, lots of great potluck dishes arrived, and the day seemed to fly by.  Before the day got too "exciting," Carol, Becky, Lisa, and Nan opened the beautiful, thoughtful, and very generous gifts sent to us by our incredible families.  We can't thank you enough for thinking of us.  We'll give the guys thank you notes when we return in January, so please be on the lookout!  


What follows are LOTS of photos (and a video) from our day, with a brief description of each.  Our guys will enjoy looking back on this day when we do our first weekly blog check in January.  We like making memories!

We enjoyed holiday dance music!

 

We waitied patiently for lunch by playing Christmas Carol Trivia. 


Our guys know their Christmas carols!


Our potluck luncheon was the best!  We welcomed Tracy (in the pink shirt at the buffet table), but didn't get a great picture with her. 😔 Our custodian friends came by after cafeteria duty but we were sharing Secret Santa gifts by then, and forgot to get pics of them, too. 😵 All of our guests were happy to be included and loved our variety of dishes!


POP! POP! POP!  Our Christmas Crackers worked!


Treats and prizes flew everywhere when the ends burst open, but we gathered it all up!


Kevin brought in a mini-Karaoke microphone that could make our voices sound like elves!  He didn't want to sing, but his friends had fun singing along with the music on it.  Kacie and Alexis joined Annmarie to wish us a Merry Christmas!


Laura led us in a jolly version of Jingle Bells!


We were thrilled when Cameron wanted to sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas!


Check out the moves of "Elf-is Presley," the best singer at the North Pole.  (aka, Sam!)


Finally, the big Secret Santa reveal!  Liz was excited to receive a gift from Kacie, and Kacie was excited to give it.


Devin revealed himself to Bo, and Bo was happy to find a Harry Potter themed gift inside the bag!


Drew was curious to see what he was getting from Abraham.  It was a Disney music CD and a joke book - Drew's favorites!


Patrick was thrilled with his W&M Tribe gift from Sam.  "Yep," said Sam.  "I know what he likes!"


Alexis was Kate's Secret Santa...


and Kate was hers!  They had no idea they had gotten each other's names!


Drew gave Kevin a gift and a hug!  He knew Kevin was going to love a new puzzle.


Laura's face said it all:  "This is for me?" Liz was her Secret Santa!


Kevin picked Devin's name and gave him this beanie and neck warmer scarf representing Clemson.  Devin loved it!  (No surprise there!)


Bo and Xavier are both on the quiet side, and when Bo gave his gift to Xavier, Xavier spoke a soft "thank you" before sitting down to see what it was. 


Next, Xavier quietly gave Cameron a gift.  Cameron is also quiet, but his eyes lit up when he saw it was an iTunes card.  He loves to download music on his iPad at home.


Kacie was happy to receive a gift from Annmarie, who knows Kacie enjoys crafting and gardening.  The gift was a kit for making a terrarium, and included soil and seeds to plant!


It's hard to tell who was happier, Patrick the giver, or Abraham, the receiver!  The dinosaur floor puzzle got a big smile out of Abraham!


When it was Cameron's turn, we learned he was Sam's Secret Santa!  After looking in the bag, Sam was delighted to get a movie-themed gift!


Annmarie waited patiently as everyone's Secret Santa was revealed but hers.  Her anticipation was growing as she kept whispering that maybe the next one would be her, but alas, she was the last one to receive her gift.  You can tell from her expression that she was happy to receive a paint and coloring gift from Laura!


This photo was too precious not to include! 


The gift-giving wasn't quite over, as our beloved Becky brought everyone a United States mini-puzzle and some candy!  Ever the teacher, Becky knows we will eventually work our way through lessons on every state, so the puzzle was a great gift idea!


We ended our "office party" with a game of Christmas Bingo.  Everyone won, of course!  


Christmas at the AoA for 2019 is in the books!  Here are the gift bags we filled with a few goodies for our families.  We can't possibly put into words how much you all mean to us, or how much we cherish your support for the Arc of Greater Williamsburg and our day program, the AoA, so we will once again say "Thank you" for everything.  


May all of our families and friends (who are like family!) have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang

P.S.  We're not entirely certain of our agenda for the week of January 7th, but here are the critical details:

Tuesday, Jan. 7 - We're going bowling and will enjoy pizza for lunch, courtesy of Cameron's family.  Wear Arc shirts!

Wednesday, Jan. 8 - Patti should return for yoga, so dress to stretch! National Bean Day is on January 6, and we recently received donations of dried beans, so bean soup and cheese toast for lunch.

Thursday, Jan. 9 - Lunch on your own.

Friday, Jan. 10 - Alabama Day with pulled pork sandwiches for lunch, courtesy of Heike!