Christmas time is near.

Yesterday we had to go to Knoxville so that I could get my bee shots, and we took that opportunity in the city to do some Christmas shopping. WE ARE DONE. Hooray!

Although there is no snow here, there are some very real signs at the Community Center that Christmas is coming--things have been hopping since the beginning of December! There was a Christmas party for the families involved in the Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) program, but unfortunately we missed that because we were away at the craft show near Indianapolis. I mentioned earlier about the Outreach Department's Christmas party, complete with gifts for the children, a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and blankets and other necessary items for the adults.

The craziness didn't let up after those parties, though! Lisa, who coordinates several programs in the Outreach Department, has had her hands full with Angel Tree gift giveaways. What happens with this program is that churches commit to buying presents for specific children, working from information about the children's ages, clothing/shoe sizes, and interests. People are so generous! A couple from North Carolina came with a big SUV and a car both stuffed to the top with presents from their church. Another group (I'm not sure where from) came with a fifteen-passenger van, a pickup truck, and a U-Haul trailer, all carrying gifts for these children! As we unloaded the vehicles, we were amazed by the generosity of the people who sent these gifts. As Lisa and Shannon dealt with the rather overwhelming task of sorting out the packages and making phone calls, people from the community began to arrive, eager to pick up the gifts that would make their children's Christmas happier and more exciting. Altogether, gifts were collected for nearly three hundred children!

In addition to this daunting task, Lisa also worked hard on making the special Christmas boxes for the families that receive food from the food pantry. Lisa is an amazing person, and she's not the only one! I work with so many loving and giving and fun people....but there's not room in one blog entry to talk about them ALL!

Last week, as I mentioned, Henderson Settlement had its staff Christmas dinner, complete with wonderful food, good company, and some signs of Christmas. Eric snapped this picture of the Settlement's executive director, Mark, in an elf hat:

And after dinner, we sang some Christmas carols. (Pictured below are Mike, Gary, Wendell, Jim, Linda, and Mark.)

As we keep saying over and over, we are really enjoying our time here, but we are also really excited to come home for Christmas!

I'll leave you with one last sign that Christmas is coming.....click here.