As December rolls along, our gang is reveling in the holiday excitement! We stoked that excitement this week with a joyful yuletide sing-a-long with Mike, party-planning for next week, and a celebratory luncheon with our friends at Eaton. We also celebrated our friend Emma's "Winter Season" birthday on Thursday with a sweet treat and a fun musical chairs game! It was a fabulous week.
Tuesday, December 10
We visited Mike at The Watermen's Museum for the last time in 2024 today. He shared yuletide history and traditions, and as expected, sang his heart out with us. 🎵💖
Mike told us that yuletide is a word that in our time generally refers to the Christmas season. To the Vikings, who started many yuletide traditions we know today, it was a festival to celebrate the winter solstice (longest night), and hopefully the return of the sun, and eventually spring! He also said that last weekend local Vikings camped in Yorktown for a Yuletide celebration!
He reminded us that in Colonial times (and before), folks believed that filling their homes with fresh scents would help ward off disease. That's where our tradition of using pine, cedar, citrus and other scents to make our homes smell fresh and clean came from!
Mike provided limes, cloves, greenery, and ribbon so we could make our annual pomanders. Beka used a skewer to start holes in the lime which would make it easier to insert the cloves.
The carriage room smelled wonderful as we worked. Here, Kevin was pushing cloves into his lime.
Now, for the enjoyment of our readers...we sang with Mike today. A lot. Very loudly, too. And we love to see ourselves on video, so here we are!
Under Mike's creative guidance, we reworked "Twelve Days of Christmas" to "Twelve Days of Arcmas," and it might go viral according to Mike! (You had to be there...😀)
The grand finale! Mike, we wish YOU a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we thank you from our happy hearts for another fun year of lessons with you! We are looking forward to 2025 and our continued partnership and friendship with you!
We decided to return to the center after our time with Mike since it was cloudy and windy outside. We ate lunch and had Choice Time before listening to a couple of chapters from Stargirl and then a check of last week's blog. We never took another photo today...
Wednesday, December 11
We were busy today! Volunteering at Grove and making more decorations for our room took up most of the morning, but we also celebrated National App Day using our laptops and iPhones. In the afternoon, we voted on which movie we'll watch at Carol's house next week, and then we made a shopping list for the items we need to buy for next Friday's holiday party. (We're going shopping tomorrow!) We had to reschedule our Rock Steady Boxing workout to January because Kelly was under the weather. We hope you feel better soon, Kelly. We'll look forward to seeing you guys in January!
Ten of us worked with Thom, Tom, Ursula, Peggy, and Joel at GCOC today!
Gosh, Ursula's holiday meringue cookies are so tasty and almost too pretty to eat! Thank you, Ursula. You are a baking whiz!! Merry Christmas to all of our Wednesday volunteer friends at Grove. We absolutely LOVE working with you!
Happy National App Day! We certainly enjoy using our laptops (and sometimes iPhones) to explore and enjoy lots of different kinds of apps. Today we played puzzles, solved word searches, and learned about animals.
Here's Drew being a fan of a sticky glue project...not! 😜
After two rounds of voting, we decided we will watch Christmas With the Kranks next week when we visit Carol's in-home theater. Polar Express came in second, so we may have that running on another screen, too! (Carol has a few screens in her home!!)
Thursday, December 12
Happy Birthday to Emma, today! She has the last birthday of our members for this year, but she was worth the wait! She decided on a game of musical chairs, so we played a holiday version.
Who says adults can't play and enjoy musical chairs?!
We were surprised by visits from two wonderful friends today. Moose Patti popped in just before lunch, full of smiles and with hugs for all! She said she had some unexpected time off and wanted to stop by to "see my favorite peeps in Williamsburg!" We neglected to grab a photo with Patti, but here's clipart that looks just like her! Thank you for visiting today, Patti. You always bring joy and laughter, and we love you for it!! We wish you very Happy Holidays and...Go, Steelers!!
💛🖤💛🖤 Have fun at the game on Christmas Day! 🏈🏈🏈
Next, we heard a knock at the door and it was Krafty Karen! She stopped by to bring us one of her special craft kits (cards to make for our families), and a sweet treat, too! Karen, we always love to catch up with you. Thank you for the card kits and treats. We appreciate you for the time you spend creating nice things for us to make. We wish you and Steve a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 💕💕💕
Soon it was time to sing to Emma and toast her special day with delicious cupcakes! Emma, we hope all your wishes come true! We are thankful to your family for providing a special treat so we could celebrate you. Happy 29th Birthday!
We changed our afternoon plans from scavenger hunting in Colonial Williamsburg to grocery shopping for our holiday party! Everyone is excited for the party, so we decided to split into two groups and let the gang help with the shopping. Lisa's group hit Walmart and found everything on their list except guacamole mix and lime sherbet! (Update: Lisa found those items later at Food Lion!)
Carol's group stopped by Aldi's, and they were successful in finding everything on their list! They put a quarter into the cart, brought their own bags, and checked to make sure the eggs weren't broken! Great job by them! We're going to party well next Friday!!
We also made a stop at APEX-PT and Movement Center where we picked up the donations from their very successful food drive! We got to see Kelly, who was feeling better, and helped us load both vans with donations brought in by their staff and patients. Each year, APEX conducts a food drive to support The Arc's efforts and we offer to pick up the items and deliver them to GCOC. Thank you, APEX-PT, for your enduring support of The Arc. We are thankful for your partnership and appreciate these donations so much!
Friday, December 13
Another "last" for this year happened today: we worked at Eaton for the final time until 2025. It was a busy, but quick morning as we sorted, unpacked, and gasketed, and then we made holiday crafts and had a pizza party!
Next up, crafting. We made ornaments and painted pictures, too!
That's Jorie giving Abraham a hug (and Laura with her arms ready for one). She joined us for lunch and we were so happy to see her!
Thank you for another amazing year, Eaton! We are very appreciative of this opportunity to work for you and learn so many good skills! Thanks, also, for helping The Arc earn another grant from Eaton Corporation for 2024! We are already looking forward to continuing our partnership AND friendship in 2025!
We have a wonderful update on Tessa! Her family was able to get an EasyStand StrapStand which lifts Tessa directly from a wheelchair or bed to a standing position. This is very good news as regaining the ability to stand and walk is one of her main goals. They are also having a ramp built which will make transferring Tessa in and out of the house much easier. Tessa's mother, Michelle, wants us to thank all of Tessa's AoA friends and their families, as well as our Arc staff members, for the generous donations that have helped them provide much of what Tessa needs as she rehabilitates at home. Michelle also stresses that our prayers have meant so very much to them!
Michelle put a bird feeder outside one of Tessa's windows. She says Tessa really enjoys watching the birds, but they have to constantly fight off squirrels! We can relate to that! In other good news, we are going to get to visit Tessa on Tuesday! We have a Secret Santa gift for her (from us all), so after lunch we will stop by her home for a short visit. That's the kind of medicine that will do us ALL good! 💗💗💗
We are looking forward to an exciting last week of the year. We have so much to be thankful for, and in between the joy, laughter, and fun, we will pause to reflect on our many blessings! Here's a look at our plans to end 2024:
Tuesday: We're going to remain at AFCC this morning and welcome Christina from The Art Museums of CW for a celebration of her birthday! This is an annual tradition that also includes her working on a beautiful holiday craft with us. We're excited to see what she helps us make this year! We'll enjoy breakfast casserole, fruit salad, and birthday cake muffins for lunch! After lunch we're going to visit Tessa at her home and give her a Secret Santa gift!
Wednesday: Our therapy dog friends will join us for a holiday-themed visit this morning. We'll read, sing, and enjoy light refreshments. We will also finish making treats for our family gift bags today. Lunch on your own. JRES Cafeteria is serving Cheesy Pasta Supreme or Sub of the Day.
Thursday: Holiday Party #1 is today! Another annual tradition is going to Carol's house to watch a movie in her home theater, play games, and have lunch. Thank you, Carol, for extending this invitation for a day that we enjoy very much! Feel free to wear your holiday colors. We'll order subs from Jersey Mike's for lunch, and add chips and fruit. For dessert we'll decorate our traditional Christmas tree brownies.
Friday: Merry Christmas! It's our final AoA day of 2024, so bring on the party! Today will be a celebration with games, music, lunch buffet, and our Secret Santa gift exchange, so don't forget to bring your Secret Santa gifts! Lunch will consist of all the goodies we selected for our menu (meatballs, chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, chips, dips, fruits, veggies, Grinch Punch...). Wear your holiday colors and be prepared to have fun all day! 🎄🎅
Thank you, AoA Families, for your support, not just this week, but all year! We are grateful for you!
Have a great weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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