Saturday, January 10, 2009

Christmas Gifts for All

Every year as we prepare our Christmas gift list for the Crossing Church, I wince as I see that our list has, again, grown. This year’s list had more than 150 names, for whom Granny’s House is their very favorite place to be after school . Not to mention all the hard work Angie Azzanni pours into preparing, not just a simple list of names on a piece of paper, but lovingly makes a wooden Christmas ornament bearing the name of each and every Granny’s House kid so that the person at The Crossing who “adopts” that kid for Christmas can keep the ornament long after the holidays as a ready reminder to continue praying for that one child throughout the year. What a blessing to know that our kids are not only being blessed with gifts for Christmas but their names are being called out in prayer to our Father throughout the year. –Granny Pam

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Christmas with the G.I.R.L.S.




The G.I.R.L.S. group (Experiencing God In Real Life Situations) gathered at Granny Pam’s House to have a, somewhat, unconventional Christmas party. Rather than traditional holiday treats like sprinkled sugar cookies and fudge, they requested homemade chili with all the fixins; lemonade instead of hot cider. We huddled around the television eating as we watched “The Very First Noel,” an incredibly clever animated rendition of the Christmas story.

After eating and watching our little thirty minute movie, all the fun began. Each girl decorated their very own “designer” gingerbread house. At the end of the evening, there was, quite literally, white frosting everywhere!

To add a little nostalgia, we all sat before a crackling fire as Granny Pam read “A Special Place For Santa.” Seeing Santa kneeling before the Christ child was a scene they had never before considered.

And to conclude our precious time together, we had a gift exchange: soft, fuzzy, fun socks… all wrapped up and ready to give. What a rich time we had together!
–Granny Pam