Last year about two weeks after Nick went Home, Olivia had some friends over to make gingerbread houses.  As the girls finished their village pieces, they came up with the idea that they would call it the Thumbs Up Village in memory of Nick.  It was so sweet!!!

This year we decided to have a special day and night again!  This time we started at the Christmas parade.

Thank you, Esta, for asking the girls to help hand out soup and sandwiches during the parade for Meals on Wheels!  It was such a great opportunity for them to give.

After the parade, Santa handed out toys to all of the kids!  Olivia was very excited to get a “pig!”  Her favorite animal!!!!!!!!!!!! 

   I just love how you can find Jesus ANYWHERE!

As we were walking down Main Street during the parade, there He was!  Tucked away in a corner, not trying to steal the show, not demanding everyone’s attention….just there…..waiting for people to notice Him.

Help me see You, Jesus, everywhere I go.   When we got back to the house we played some silly group games!

And then we made Christmas ornaments!  We printed out a picture of the group of girls and then passed them around so that each girl could write something “sweet” about each friend.  Words ranging from “funny to pretty eyes to awesome” filled the card borders!  It was good for the girls to read what others thought about them! 

We all need a little encouragement now and then, don’t we??

At about 1 a.m., we drug Tim into the living room to host about five games of MAFIA!  The girls love this game, but it needs a good moderator!  Tim did a great job!  The girls were cracking me up with their conversations during this game where you are trying to figure out who the mafia are, who the police are, and who the nurse is….

Tomorrow I’ll share about their Gingerbread Village

in memory of Nick.

It was precious!