Merry Christmas

This post is a bit late, because we have been having such a wonderful Christmas. It got off to a very nice start when Grant Birks sent out a request for drivers for the House of Friendship food hamper program. Last February Dianne and I had a very good experience volunteering at their potato blitz. Dianne and I took Grant up on this offer, and it was a truly restorative experience. People were so nice and so grateful. A very cute 8 or 9 year old girl even showed me the wreath that she had made at school.

I had the week of the 22nd off. Joel spent the 20th and 21st at a camp reunion in Leaside. Sunday we met Tim for brunch when we picked up Joel and Kristen and Justin Chambers. The 21st was a very moving special service at Knox, called the longest night service. A Waterloo police-woman was the speaker, and she spoke of her experience in the Sudan and coming home to find that nothing was actually being done. On the 23rd we met Rob, Allison, Joshua, Eli, Grandma, Grandpa and Tim for a wonderful dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's in Mississauga. On the 24th we bought all new wiper blades, because the drive home on the 23rd was pretty bad.

On Christmas day, we went for our annual Church in the Woods pilgrimage. It was absolutely packed. A nice surprise was that Grant and Femmy Birks were there and invited us back to their place for coffee. We got to hear some nice stories from Mike's travels in West Africa. He is traveling on an International studies program. I wore my new flanel shirt and listened to a R&B cd that Joel got me. It was nice to see everyone wearing the new mittens that Dianne and I found for them at the Waterloo Market. Al phoned on Christmas day from Sudbury.

On boxing day, we went to the 18th Annual Christmas gathering of decendants of my Hildred grandparents. The food as usual was awesome, and Dave and Connie that always host have a great place where everyone can sit comfortably together. Christine has been home, but on the weekend just past she got to go to a farm by Guelph and spend the night with some camp friends. Christine and I have been having some very nice walks and talks. Joel put on his facebook, that he wasn't sure where the week went as it happened so quickly. It is a very nice blur though.