A Day of Service for The 4 Wahls

Today was a day of service and volunteerism for the Wahl Family.

Since school started, the kids have been volunteering every Thursday afternoon at Sudley Manor House, an assisted living facility close to home. They do games like putting practice, bean bag tic-tac-toe, etc.. Sometimes I stick around, but the the staff is comfortable with the kids being there by themselves so not always. Jason needs the community service hours for the program he's in at school, and Sam just enjoys it. Today was their Thanksgiving brunch, where some of the families came in to share with the residents. So the kids and I went and helped set up, served drinks, cleaned up and reset tables, served drinks (and occasionally got food from the buffet) and visited and cleaned up again.

We got over there a little before 11 this morning so we'd be ready for the 11 o'clock serving. The dining room was fairly well packed, and we stayed busy. Sam was a little shy and followed around in my footsteps, me with a pitcher of water and pot of coffee, her with iced tea. Jason did very well on his own, and I got a lot of compliments on both of them. Right away Jason decided he wanted to stay for the 1 o'clock serving, but Sam was not so sure. By the time things started to clear out, she had decided to stay as well, and the second serving wasn't quite as busy. We got some nibbles in between. During the second serving, one of the residents that is always there sort of latched on to Sam and wanted her company. This lady survived a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, and later worked with the Red Cross, eventually coming to the U.S. and putting in over 20 years at the Pentagon. During the second service Jason really busted his butt and did a fantastic job. By the time we were done and had helped clean up, we spent a little over 3 hours there today, and I think we all enjoyed it.

Terri has been doing quilt squares for Marine Comfort Quilts. This is a cause that is very dear to her heart, and that the rest of us have supported and gotten close to as well. I encourage you to visit their website and have a small taste of what motivated military families do to support each other. Terri has sewn many quilt squares for this cause, and we have all helped out by signing some of them. Today she had the opportunity to get together at a lady's house in Sterling to piece some quilts together. As some of you may know, for her to step out and go to a stranger's house to do something like this is a challenge for her, an indicator of just how much it means.

I think all of us will go to bed tonight feeling like we've done something worthwhile with our time today.

Of course, I have one more thing to do. I asked a lady at SMH what I could get her to drink. She asked for a beer. So I got approval to take her a beer this evening. Unfortunately she asked for a Bud, which isn't my brand, but I picked some up and will go share a few minutes with her over a beer.

More Pictures Added

I put a few more pictures up this past weekend. These are some older family photos from my dad's side of the family. Some of them are pretty neat, and I'm hoping to add to them. I think in that regard though, my next project will be to give some of the thoughts I have about those people.

Other than that, things are pretty quiet. We're starting to look forward to our trip to Williamsburg just after my birthday, and of course there's a glitch. Jason's Christmas concert is December 6, the Tuesday in the middle of that week. We have my Mom and Richard coming down with us on Saturday, and guests coming in from Canada on Monday, and an open house at my in-laws on the 10th. So it looks like we'll take 2 cars, Terri will come up Sunday with the kids, I pick up Tanya and Jarret on Monday night, Mom and Richard leave Tuesday, and Terri hands the kids off to Mom Tuesday night after the concert., then comes back down to Williamsburg. Plus our frind Kevin may be coming up from Charlotte for a couple of days. Maybe Terri can drive up Monday rather than Sunday night, so the kids would miss just one day of school. We'll see. Overadapt and acome.