Hello from our home to yours! It has been busy around here as we recently celebrated our annual Thanksgiving dinner on November 22. There were four hundred dinners served to both the residents and their families. The success of this event was due to the hard work, planning and dedication of our cooks and staff. Although we served everyone at the same time last year, we decided to do it at two different times this year to ensure that everyone had plenty of space and time to enjoy their dinner and compnay. Not only was this a great success, but the food and fellowship was also excellent! On Thanksgiving day, some of the residents also had family members come and join them to celebrate the holiday. On Friday staff began decorating for Christmas. There is now a large and beautiful tree standing in the main lobby twinkling with a multitude of lights marking the beginning of the Christmas season in our home.
We are also very happy that Anna Worthy is back from her hospital stay and is all smiles as she is glad to be back. The Sonshine Singers also came to visit on Friday and touched our hearts with both their singing and guitar playing. We appreciated their talents and their ability to uplift the spirits of the residents. The weather has been nice and cool although a little cloudy at times with a light mist and occasional rain. It even looked like it could snow – are you ready? No matter what the weather, all of us here at the home are always taken care of as we have great community and family support. The halls have been especially busy with residents’ loved ones who have come to visit them during the holiday season, and many which have come from great distances. How happy we are to see them!
There have also been some new faces at our Pokenno games. Almost everyone won a game and there was even one game with three winners. The Lord’s Day began with morning Bible study with Larry Moore followed by a pleasant church service with Mt. Tabor Church in the afternoon. A brightly colored puzzle of a kitten was worked on during quite time that day by me and the residents. Our newest resdient, Carol Simmons, has enjoyed getting on Facebook. If any of you are interested in finding out what we do at the home feel freee to visit us on Facebook at Heart of the Ozarks. We update often photos and events that go on in the home.
Ava Junior High Student Council also visited our home on Monday, November 21st. Both the residents and the youth enjoyed getting to know one another eating popcorn and playing games. The students who attended this event were as follows: Hunter Shelton, Anthony Rosas, Emily Bailey, Dakota Pierce, Caley Wallace, Bailey Ray, Bailey Loge, Sheldon Lewis, Blake Litwiller, Titus Pinckney, Nate Crandall, Kira Collett, Cera Longino, Evan Heinlein, Connor Moran, Weston Stillings, Darci Ray, Sierra Boatman, Belle Giorgianni, Caleb Johnson, Jacob Key, Drake King, Ashton Bewley, Lauren Mendel and Jessica Stafford. We look forward to seeing them again next month! The Frogs Club from the Ava United Methodist Church also visited us and sang several Thanksgiving songs. There was approximately 35 pilgrims and around 35 turkeys in our building. We all had such a great time with them too!
There was also a couple of residents who went on a country van ride; Lena Carline, Larry Peak, Norma Kennedy, Tom Hawkins, Bill Herrington and Hellen Allen. The ride included a trip down to Theodosia Lake in Theodosia, Missouri and back up to Gainesville were we picked up surprise lunch for Ms. Tonya from the Harlin House.
Lastly, we would like to welcome Carol Simmons, Virgil Agee, Gracy Irby and Jewel Brown as they are new residents of our home. God bless you from our home to yours!
