The Ladies' Church Christmas Party - 12/10/07

It's that time of the year again..... A time for parties and events where friends and family get together ..... For me things started out with the annual Christmas Dinner/party for the ladies at our church.... As usual, we held our dinner right there at church.... Our meal was prepared by Chef Rich Hardy and many other male volunteers from our church.... one of which is Rich's son, who, from my understanding, worked right along side of his dad the whole evening.... His mom says he just loves to cook with Dad and is something they often do together.... Maybe another chef in the family one day??? I managed to catch this photo of him towards the end of the evening... A little tired but still going strong.....


Everyone signing in before they enter the dining area....

As you can see, we had another wonderful turn out of ladies and guests.....

These are just a few of our wonderful male servers... They did a great job of attending to all our needs.... from making sure our glasses were full, keeping us in rolls until our dinner arrived, and always with a smile on their faces and eager to please....

Besides their gift for their secret sister, each of us were also asked to bring a gift to pass... This table held the gifts to pass (only)....

A couple of good friends enjoying each other's company (Linda and Peggy)....

Our meal started out with rolls and salad, and then our main course arrived.... Rice and Pork chops smothered with fruit in a deletable fruit sauce (raisins, apples, & pears)... Mmmmm, mmmm, good!!! Our pork was so tender..... and do delicious....

Our Pastry Chef... Mary Ann Hardy with her daughter.....

Our Dessert..... Mary Ann's signature Carrot Cake, I might add..... While I'm not a big fan of carrot cake, rumor has it among those who have sampled this delightful dessert.... there is none to compare to it.... I took mine home to Bruce, who was more than happy to receive it....

Another good friend, Connie, with her mother who was her guest for the evening....

Two good friends, Debbie and Sandy......

After the dinner a few of the ladies entertained us with a little skit they put together for the evening.... Very funny as well as spiritually awakening..... Here we have our pastor's wife, Connie and with another lady from our churc, Mary Jane, acting out one of their scenes... Connie is going on and on about the gift she bought for her cat, which she elaborated on how much her husband just loves cats.... (So not true)....That in itself got a few laughs.....

Time to open gifts.... What fun that was.... Something for everyone!!!

Best Friends.....(Donna & Jan)........ (Also very dear friends to me... very special ladies)

Our pastor's wife and daughter... (Connie & Nicole)..... Isn't that a beautiful jacket Connie's wearing... she said Mike found it for her during a visit to Lake Placid.... Great taste Mike (in women and in clothing).....

Here I am with a very special and sweet woman from church, Cheryle.... What a precious lady she is... One of the things that stand out for me with Cheryle (among many others) is her gift to memorize bible versus.... I am always amazed when I hear her reciting very long versus soley from memory (without a flaw I might add).....

And of course had to have a photo of me and my dear friend, Debbie.....Isn't that a beautiful scarf she's wearing.... It was her gift from among the gifts to pass (randomly handed out), which she also learned was handmade by our good friend, Sandy (above photo with Debbie)....

It was a lovely evening spent with many dear and special old friends... A chance to meet and make new friends.... and a chance to remember (together) the true purpose behind the celebration of the season... The day our Savior was born.... That HE came into the world an innocent child ready to take on our sins and rescue us from ourselves and give us the most wonderful gift of all times...The gift of love and life everlasting..... THANK YOU JESUS FOR ALL YOU HAVE GIVEN EACH AND EVERYONE OF US..... Our lives are so much richer because of YOU and your selfless love and sacrifice!!! And if there be anyone reading this who hasn't yet met JESUS.... Just know... all you have to do is call on HIS NAME... and HE'LL be right there to meet you and guide you from that moment forward.....