The Arc of Abilities enjoyed an abbreviated week, including a Monday session, as we looked forward to the Thanksgiving holiday. This is the only week of the year when we have a Monday session, because we close Wednesday-Friday. We spent Monday working on gifts for our families and had another Friendsgiving meal with our friend, Sandra. On Tuesday we delivered food to GCOC and spent time at Chippokes State Park. It was a short, but very sweet week!
Monday, November 25
We met for our only Monday session of the year today. No one seemed to notice it wasn't another typical "day at the office" though! First, we worked on several gifts for our families. We like to send a gift bag home at Christmas time with a few keepsakes made by our members (and some homemade goodies), so we got a head start this week! We set up stations and rotated in groups to make the surprises!
Jars, colorful tissue paper, rocks...
Pinecones and paint...
Not a gift for families at this station, but a gift for our room - pretty pictures that will decorate our walls!
Allison was on hand to lead this project that involved paint, Modge Podge, and glitter!
It was another one of those mild days that we appreciate for a chance to get outside.
Our sweet friend Sandra surprised us with a visit today, and treated us to her delicious pork and rice with salsa verde sauce for lunch! It is soooo tasty and we are blessed by Sandra's thoughtfulness in cooking for us. Thank you for sharing your Colombian cooking with us, Sandra. This was a joyful Friendsgiving meal! You call us your "angels," but we think you are an angel, too. Your joy and kindness are contagious. 💙💚💜
Thank you, Allison, for adding the yummy cupcakes to our Friendsgiving meal!
Sandra and Drew squeezed in a quick dance!
We ended the day with a couple of Thanksgiving games, including a "Would You Rather" where we had to decide if we would rather swim in gravy or wash our hair with mashed potatoes! Lots of laughs with this one!
In this game, we used our brains to think of reasons why one of the objects didn't belong in each group. We came up with two reasons why the golf ball doesn't belong, and one reason for the football in this example. We're so smart!!
Tuesday, November 26
As we prepared to take a few days off to celebrate Thanksgiving, we gathered our food drive donations and delivered them to Grove Christian Outreach Center. We are grateful for the generous contributions of our Arc of Abilities families!
Ally helped us unload and thanked us for our kindness and generosity!
Ally also showed us around The Gathering Place, which is Williamsburg's first free grocery market. The large room where we work when we volunteer has been renovated and made into a beautiful market which offers a dignified shopping experience to vulnerable families across the region. Click on the first picture for a link to read more about this innovative program. We are so proud to call Grove Christian Outreach Center one of our partners and friends!
About half of these donations were collected at Frothy Moon Brewhouse. We added them to our donations and made the delivery on behalf of The Arc of Greater Williamsburg!
Katie Patrick, GCOC's Executive Director, greeted everyone with a high five!
The weather didn't cooperate as nicely as we hoped for our trip to Chippokes State Park in Surry, but we managed to avoid the off and on rain sprinkles for a nice visit anyway! It was too wet to play games, but we took a good hike down to the river, looked for a few shark teeth, hammed it up for the camera for a Turkey Trot, and had a delightful lunch. We were joined by Tracy, Katrina, and Javante from Parks and Rec. It was a fun morning!
It wasn't as wet back at the center, so some of us played corn hole while others enjoyed Choice Time inside.
Bryan and Kate topped off the bird feeders. It will be a week before we can fill them again!
Here's a preview of our Christmas tree for this year. Tracy and Carol are using garland for a design that Liz found online. It's going to be beautiful when we finish it next week!
After the girls made their selections, we reminded everyone to keep it a secret!!
We have an update on our friend Tessa's progress. We sure do miss this sweet girl! Mom Michelle reports that Tessa is persevering and working hard to build her strength back, and that she's definitely stronger with more control of her arms and legs. She says they are working a lot on helping Tessa to stand up straight and tall, and Tessa is able to do that for about 30 seconds now. She exercises for 6 days a week and has one day to rest. Tessa and Michelle, we are proud of how hard you are working to get Tessa back to full strength. We keep you in our thoughts all the time, and we look forward to the day we can see Tessa again. Thank you for sharing the photos and updates. Tessa looks determined and pretty!
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We will see everyone back at the center on Tuesday. Here are our plans for the first week in December!
Tuesday: We are kicking off Winter Birthday Season as we celebrate Carol, even though (technically) it isn't winter until December 21. It's also the first Tuesday of the month, so we'll go bowling and have pizza for lunch. Carol chose cherry cobbler for her birthday treat! We are also going to prepare for a big luncheon we are hosting tomorrow by working on decorations and cards.
Wednesday: First thing this morning, we will volunteer at GCOC so please wear Arc shirts. We are also hosting a luncheon today for John Carnifax, who recently retired as Director of Parks & Recreation. We'll be joined by the new director, Arlana Fauntleroy, Pam, and a number of Arc board members. We'll end the day with dice games as we celebrate National Dice Day! Lasagna, salad, and cake for lunch!
Thursday: Today we will kick back and catch our breath. We'll finish our family gifts, complete some brain work, and watch a holiday themed episode of Gilligan's Island (one of our go-to activities on a kick back day). Lunch on your own. JRES Cafeteria is offering Domino's Pizza, Chef Salad, or Yogurt Combo.
Friday: We're headed to Pet Supplies Plus for a work day, so please wear your PSP shirts. The crew who remains at the center will work on organizing our crayons, markers, colored pencils, and other craft supplies. We will also make another decoration for the room! Lunch on your own. JRES Cafeteria is serving Corn Dog Nuggets or Chicken Sandwich.
Enjoy the holiday,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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