Christmas Surprise!

Most of the kids left this morning to spend Christmas with their families.  We were eating lunch when a car pulled up in front of the cottage.  The lady who got out of the car is a supported of our ministry and every Christmas her and her granddaughters do something together.  This year they decided to bake cupcakes, sell them, and then give the proceeds to our cottage for the kids to decide what to do with.  The girls raised over $280!!!  What a great Christmas surprise!

Our first Cottage Christmas

We celebrated Christmas as a cottage today and boy was it a great day.  We started out with a big breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, grits, pancakes, and waffles.  Jonathan and Ariel were my kitchen helpers that morning to get everything ready.  Travis led the younger kids in a military style march to make sure everything was cleaned up and we were ready to go.  We opened presents and the kids had such a great time. Mike and I loved our first Christmas as parents and really, really enjoyed watching the kids get so excited over their new toys and clothes.  We had a Christmas lunch of ham, mashed potatos, and vegtables and then played all afternoon.  We finished the evening with pizza for dinner and a movie.  I took many, many pictures so it was hard to choose just a few to show.  Merry Christmas!

Schools Out!

We came back on duty today and it was a very full day.  We were in meetings most of the morning and the kids had a half day at school. We picked them up around 11:30am and headed to Lamar Meadows, a senior center in Purvis.  They do an act of kindness each month and for December they chose to buy our kids gifts.  They served us cookies and punch and each kid received a gift and a gift card to a place they wanted to either eat or shop. 
After Lamar Medows we came home for lunch and then went out to Calley Hudson Salon to get haircuts.  We came back home to get Travis up to the school that afternoon for an away basketball game and Ariel had a party with her soccer team.  6 kids really keeps us busy!

Time to Party Again

Last night we went to Woodlawn Pentacostal for another Christmas celebration.  We met at the church in Columbia (along with other kids from the community) and all traveled together by charter bus back to Hattiesburg to go to Gatti Town.  We ate the pizza buffet and played games before heading back to the church to open presents.  The kids each received a bike and a sack full of presents.  They had a great time and we are so grateful for the people who are so generous to our kids.

Trell and Logan blowing up balloons for a game

Our team was the one where you can't see his head :-)

Jonathan was chosen to be the snowman and get wrapped in toilet paper

Jonathan and the other player

Ashton and his new bike

He's been wanting a lunch box for a long time

Jonathan loves stuff that makes him smell good

Travis opening his sack

Ashton Claus

Trell diving into his gifts

Christmas, Christmas Time is Near

Tonight we celebrated Christmas with West Creek Baptist Church in Sumrall.  They invited us to attend their Christmas service and meal to be followed by presents for our kids.  The members were so generous! You can see the excitement and happiness on the kids faces in the pictures below.  Enjoy!

Introducing the HOHFC Staff

We had our staff/board Christmas party today so I thought I'd take some pictures of our staff to share.

Communication Director, Sarah Dixon; Executive Director, Michael Garrett

Counselor, Julia Sandhaus; Educational Specialist, Margie Willis

House Relief/Future Girls Cottage House Parents: Tim & Rachel Westley

Mike and I

Chick-fil-a Christmas

Tonight we had our first Christmas party of the season at the Hattiesburg Chick-fil-a.  The Olivier family is so kind and generous in their support of Homes of Hope.  They let all of our kids and staff eat for free, gave the kids goodie bags that had Chick-fil-a calendars, cows, and some candy, as well as let us have the dessert of our choice.  I didn't take my camera so I don't have any pictures to share but the kids had a great time hanging out with the cow, playing with on the play place, and getting loved on by the Olivier family. 

Christmas Parade Time!

Last night we went to the Purvis Christmas Parade.  It was a small parade but decent.  They had the Purvis High School band and the Pearl River Community College Band, multiple floats throwing candy and plastic cups, and the standard parade twirlers/dance troups.  The weirdest part of it all- Santa was in the middle of the parade!  I've always seen Santa ending the parade but this Santa was smack dab in the middle followed by some classic cars.  It made you think the parade was over and you had to really look to see that the cars were really part of the parade, not the people leaving. 
My favorite part was the police on their motorcyles leading the parade.  They did such a great job and did a lot of different formations and things with their bikes.  Kudos to a small town!!!

Girl Time!

Ariel and I had a little fun tonight while watching The Munsters with a mini hair salon in our living room.  I flat ironed her hair- my first time ever!- and she tried to curl my hair.  She also experimented with her Bump-It and EZ Comb but we only got a picture of the curls.  Let me know if you need an appointment at the Dearman Cottage Salon!

Christmas Time is Here!

After the kids were back from visitation some volunteers from New Zion Hill Baptist Church came over with ornaments, lights, and other goodies to help us decorate the cottage.  The kids did such a great job and we're thankful for the donations to help our cottage look so festive!

Menu Plan

November 28th-December 4th

Sunday, November 28th
Breakfast: Cinnamon What-Is-It? (It's like a Coffee Cake)
Lunch: Tuna/Egg Salad Sandwiches, Chip (Leftover Chili)
Dinner: Hamburgers

Monday, November 29th
Breakfast: Waffles
Dinner: Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Tuesday, November 30th
Breakfast: Crock Pot Morning Casserole
Dinner: Tacos

Wednesday, December 1st
Breakfast: Cereal, Toast, Oatmeal
Dinner: BBQ Chicken

Thursday, December 2nd
Breakfast: Muffins
Dinner: Salisbury Steak

Friday, December 3rd
Breakfast: Eggs, Grits, and Sausage
Dinner: Sloppy Joe Casserole

Saturday, December 4th
Breakfast: Cereal, Toast, Oatmeal
Lunch: Ravioli
Dinner: Text King Ranch Chicken

In The Woods

Swallow Fork Lake Cabins is s a family owned property with 3 cabins around a small lake. We were given a 2 night stay to get away from it all.  So on Monday off we went- 30 minutes down the road- to Poplarville, MS.  We found the place, no problem, and here's our 1 bedroom cabin. 

I am not a camper so I was a bit hesitant about staying in a place that looked so rustic.  Fortunately, the inside was nicer than the outside let on. 

It had cable.

Electricity.

A bed.

And indoor plumbing.

On Tuesday we went an explored the small town of Poplarville.  It didn't take very long but I was able to get a few books at a used bookstore and we met a local artist who was preparing for a Christmas open house. 

I'm not sure we'd go back again but it was nice to get away from the business and noise of normal life.