Noember 30, 2014

The Decorating Crew Arrived 

and Completed Their Task

November 30, 2014

It was another wonderful fall day.  It was comfortably warm with some very brief, light showers during the morning.  Twice during the church service I spotted rain in the courtyard, but could not see any on the parking lots on either side of the church.

Our Bible Study class was well attended and had lots of comments to add to the lesson as we wrapped up a study in Hebrews - one of my favorite books in the Bible.  Then as soon as I stepped into the auditorium for the worship service, I knew there was a problem.  It turned out (if I understood correctly) a piece of plastic that is used on the lights that shine behind some trees on the podium, fell and melted, leaving a burned, smokey smell.

The smell was very strong in the auditorium and they were trying to air it out.  Several people left, particularly people with allergies or lung problems.  I tried to stay but by the time they had the greeting time, my eyes were so itchy and burning that I went to the vestibule for the rest of the service. After a bit we opened the doors to the outside and to the auditorium and by the end of the service things were better.

Jeff and Barb had an appointment to look at some houses in McAllen so we went to Wendy's for a quick lunch and then we brought their van home with the kids and they headed up the valley.  We have often gone to Wendy's in the last few months.  There was another large family group there today celebrating the 84th birthday of a lady who often sits a couple of rows behind me in church.  She and her husband were there as well as extended family and a few older friends.  It was a fun place to be.

Our oldest grandson mowed the backyard for me!  I was so happy to have him do that.  It needed at least this mowing before the winter, but with the beautiful days this past week, it may need another cutting before Christmas.  The rest of the children helped me decorate the big Christmas tree in the living room.  What a fantastic decorating crew they have become. 

The two big boys helped Ron get out the boxes of decorations and the two youngest boys stayed in their way.  A couple of the kids helped me fluff out the ribbon bows I use on the tree and then put the artificial flowers and the stuffed animals on it before more of them joined to put the ornaments on the tree.  Once the ornaments started going on the tree, the number of helpers increased and I would hand them the ornaments and if there was a special story behind them, (maybe I painted it or it was a gift from a friend), I shared the stories as they hung the decorations.

They had such fun and  worked so hard.  We have a lot of ornaments and they kept working.  When the oldest finished mowing, we all took a break for Rice Krispie treats and Kool-Aid before returning to open another large storage box of ornaments. 

The youngest of the children had been playing in the toy room and after her treat, she was ready to get in on the decorating.  She did a great job, just like the others.

The oldest grandson wanted to attend a worship service at the church for youth and college ages so Ron took him and then the others were ready for supper.  I fixed grilled cheese sandwiches and sliced apples.  I had made a big pot of beans the day before and a couple of them wanted beans.  While serving supper, I stubbed my toe again!  It hurt!  I am about to decide I have become clumsy in my old age.

Our oldest granddaughter decided to watch a Christmas movie and lay down on the couch.  The baby asked me for her blanket and showed me she wanted the trundle bed pulled out from below the day bed and she climbed up there and went to sleep.  It turned out by the time Barb and Jeff were back the oldest of the girls was running a fever and feeling pretty bad.  So they didn't stay long to visit, but loaded up the children and headed home. 

There were times the chatter was overwhelming to me, but I kept the sound processor on.  There were times I had trouble understanding the youngest.  I would not trade the afternoon for anything.  What fun we had.  What a bottomless pit our youngest grandson's stomach is!  He could not get enough to eat.