A family who decorates together…obsesses together. – Susan O’Strander
I must laugh. Susan sent me 4 pictures where all of us were SO serious – trying to get everything “just right”. Even Momma Gigi was re-stapling & re-wrapping things. She had her kids up and down those ladders 100 times. Asher & Levi were just as meticulous- ESPECIALLY Malaya. She’s me in the making when it comes to decorating.
Malaya wanted to set-up the Christmas houses in our living room. She always helps me unwrap everything but I let her decide where to place everything. Then I watched her take 90-minutes to decorate a 5-foot shelf – constantly re-arranging and making sure the “snow” lined-up just right on the edge! That’s my girl!
I told our women at Bible Study to please pray for me because every time I see a strand of lights go out – or something is not just right – I can’t concentrate on much until it’s fixed! LOL! I’m learning to just “step away from the lights – and no one gets hurt” LOL!
I let Malaya take on the cafeteria this year and it was pretty spectacular. Here’s a link to that blog if you haven’t seen the campus lit-up – http://molehaiti.org/2015/11/22/lights-done-bright-2015/
This was our first year Trimming the Tree in the Mole without my parents! It wasn’t nearly as much fun but we didn’t break as many ornaments! 🙂
Not to be outdone by the year before – we added a brick wall around the tree….you know – – a little ambiance if you will! We took down our palm tree because it took up too much space. We are expecting a little over 40 people for our Christmas Dinner – so got to make some room somewhere in here!
Thursday we are doing a smaller Thanksgiving meal with our family, Beth, Erica, & Susan.
Friday our 3-Day Women’s Conference begins. I’ll be speaking Friday morning, Beth will speak Saturday morning, and then there’s 3 nights of revival. We have a special guest pastor coming to lead it each night.
In December we are also having our first “picnic” celebration with the women who’ve earned the most points over the past few months. Similar to how we do children’s church – our women’s bible study earn points by attendance ON TIME, bringing Bibles, bringing friends, memorizing scripture, evangelizing through the week, attending church, attending choir, asking questions, and being engaged. It’s been pretty cool to see how serious these ladies are taking it. I’m super impressed! We are studying the book of Hosea.
In mid-December we are bringing the St. Louis Orphans to the Mole for a 3-day Christmas Retreat. This will be the first time in 5 years everyone will be all together again. We’ll be having special worship services, bonfires on the beach, Christmas Movie Nights, Hide & Seek/ other fun games, devotions, and lots of AMAZING food!
December 14th-24th we will do 10 nights of Christmas Movies along with special Christmas Eve services & feedings. We also have big plans for New Year’s Eve/Day.
We have a team coming in December 19th-23rd & another December 28th-January 6th!
We’ve got some busy days ahead – – but I’m looking forward to what the rest of this year may bring!
