the rest of the story

Whoops. I need to include this photo of two cute, cute, great girls, Claire and Ashley!

This is a Home Ec teacher at one of our middle schools. She is such a kind, generous person, and loves her veggies! Notice her sweater has gingerbread men on it? The other Family and Consumer Science educator in the building, Nina, gave this sweater to Cyndy once uopn a time because Cyndy loves anything gingerbread-y. Nina generously offered for me to borrow Cyndy's sweater for the church party. Aren't they supportive?! (I did wear the sweater for the party!) I then took this photo in Cyndy's classroom with her poised in front of the display of gingerbread men that all middle schoolers make.

Through the years students have left some of their creations behind. Cyndy and Miss Jules, at the other middle school, let me borrow a bakers dozen for the weekend. I then attached them back-to-back, onto measured cut dowels and set them in a canning jar. At the party the jars had big fat cute bows around them. (Honestly? This photo was taken at home after the party in front of the dirty tablecloths that I was getting ready to throw into the washing machine. That's why the linens are wrinkled; from being gathered off the food tables and put into a box to be carted home.)

Monday, for Family Home Evening, my dearest Mr. R and I made our most delicious homemade chocolate frosting (I showed him how to pipe the frosting onto the brownie), he frosted them all and then we sprinkled them with crushed candy canes. I made some of the paper gingerbread men into my thank you cards. We then drove to many houses and delivered our plate of thank you goodies. Jennie and Heidi for cutting the tree limbs for us to use as gum drop trees; Heidi, one of my Visiting Teachers, for picking up and stapling all the milk cartons closed; two of the Ballstaedt girls for coming to our home Saturday morning and cutting ribbon, taping parking lot signs and whatever was on my list. Of course I also took some to school for the fabulous sewing ladies!

I made my great friend Michelle a "kit" for her family of four handsome little boys as a thank you for starting the gathering of milk cartons and making two sets of life sized gingerbread boy and girl.

Mr. R and I stopped at the store Monday evening as we were delivering the chocolate/peppermint treats, to purchase the frosting and items for Michelle's bag as well as a gal I visit teach. She has three elementary children and wasn't able to be at the party so I made them a "kit" too.

These are the three different wreaths, there were two of each kind, for three different sets of doors. I had gathered all the items and then a wonderful gal made the bows and put them together. We took her a tray of goodies Monday evening, also!

By Tuesday evening we had taken the wreaths apart and hung them outside on our windows which has been our tradition for years. It is always funny for me to see them hanging inside the church as we purchased them years ago for our families outside wreaths. Shows how flexible "things" are.

As Paul Harvey states, 

"And now you know,

the rest of the story."