Holiday Cheer 2010

2012 “Holiday Cheer” information can be found here!

Past Luncheons, December 2, 2010, Mercy
Hall







Cookies- Thank
you to the “Cookie Elfs” – Kate, Barb, Don, Robin, Janelle, Aunt Jeanne
and Mr. Russell, Alice, Catherine, Chris and her ladies from Bayside
Quilters – Barb C. Kris S., and Marlene, and Grace. Thanks also to
Delmarva Blue Star Mothers for helping to fund the cookie tins.

Jeanne, Janelle, Barb, Don.
and Katie gathered together to sort the
cookies into cheery tins. Each tin held a dozen assorted cookies.



Just a few of the delicious
cookies the Cookie “Elfs” made.




Nope,
not mini-burgers. The cuties below were made by Alice and
are vanilla wafers with a Peppermint Pattie between them to look like
a hamburger, using red and yellow icing to hold them together to look
like ketchup and mustard with sesame seeds on top.



We filled 77 cookie containers
with at least a dozen cookies in each, and have cookies in the freezer
for another luncheon. Grace brought at least 8 more containers with
her the day of the luncheon.

Stockings were stitched by Bayside
Quilters and filled with the help of “Elfs” from all over the country.
Thank you Bayside Quilters for your support and dedication to our
troops not only for “Holiday Cheer’,
but all year long. You have brought so many smiles and so much
comfort to the combat troops and their families throughout the year.

Stockings


were
stuffed with things like this and more,


and
with handknitted hats by Jessi’s friends Cheryl, Tesia, Michelle,
Abi, and “Covers & Soles”. Thank you!



Thank you, Elf Jess, for heading
this up! A HUGE project! Thanks also to “Elfs” Jason, Neale, and Erin
who helped to wrap and stuff the 65 stockings.


Whenever I ask a Mom what
Santa puts in her son’s stocking every year, she says “Soap!” Okay,
Moms! Here’s the soap that went into some of the stockings…


Cards – We had cards from people
all across the United States
from Alaska to Florida,
Maine to California,
Minnesota
to Texas and points in between.

Some just had a signature;
some had every spare space filled with words.

We made up 60 bundles with
30 to 40 cards in each packet. Thank you “Card Elfs”!Thank you, Janelle and Katie, for helping to
screen them.

Those are some of the cards before the sorting in boxes there
behind Russell.

Russell, a WWII Marine Veteran, was our

“Official Cookie Taster Elf”


The Luncheon – Thank you to Susie, Grace,
Katie, and Jess for the good food!
Menu – Roast beef, ham, scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes,
salad, rolls, appetizers, pumpkin pie, apple pie, cookies, and smoothies.
I probably forgot something.




Hope is interning for her
future Naval MOS and is required to do volunteer work as part of the
requirements.She helped Susie
and Grace serve the luncheon.


Jess had some last minute
stocking stuffing to do (because “Your’s Truly”
had an afterthought about 10:00 PM the night before the luncheon).


She was so organized! There
were 65 stockings divided between which ones were best for Mercy Hall
and best for 5 East; some for the guys and gals we see every Mercy
Hall luncheon (we know what they like); some had more “things”


while
others had more gift cards.


When Jess finished with the stockings she began giving seated
massages.

Jim, Hess, and Wayne from Choptank Marine Corps League Detachment
439 came along and helped.

There are some new faces at Mercy Hall now, while many of our
old friends have moved on.


Bayside Quilters sent quilts
as did some groups that are in contact with one of our volunteers.
Melissa from Ohio sent some warm, snuggly, beautiful fleece blankets
with cards from the families that made them.


When we finished and packed
up at Mercy Hall, Katie and I went over to the hospital ward to distribute
stockings, cookies, and the card bundles with Hope’s help.When we returned to load up the car, the Mercy
Hall staff was decorating with what we had left there.



“Hey Jane just wanted to thank you and let you know that the boys
here at

mercy hall enjoyed the stockings and yesterdays treats! I gave the
rest

of the stockings out at formation and hung the rest of the little

stockings but by morning they were all gone. Such a success! Once
again

me and Pascal front desk staff would like
to thank you for including us

with your functions here @ mercy Hall Bethesda!
I will send pictures of the tree as soon as we get it up. Thank you
for funding the decorations.”


Little Tree in the entryway.

Our Marine Corps League friend
Jim, “Old Corps” (1946 – 1948), sent this out to his friends:

“A luncheon was served at Mercy Hall and gifts, blankets, quilts,
canisters of cookies, stockings stuffed with goodies and packets of
cards with greetings and thank you for your service were given out
to the Marines recovering from wounds received in protecting
our country. The meal was roast beef, and ham with all the trimmings.

Later stockings, cards and cookies were taken to the wards where
the non-ambulatory were recovering.

Most moving was when a entire family of
brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, mother and father, grandfather
and grandmother [just guessing at the relationship] came through
the line and took their meal over to the ward to be with their son.
They received gifts as well for him.

Visiting the hospital and seeing the sacrifices of these young servicemen
and servicewomen is very humbling.”


“The Elfs”
- Some “Elfs” sent gift cards, some sent stocking stuffers and ornaments,
and others sent checks to help with the Santa shopping.They also helped by getting the word out about
“Holiday Cheer at Bethesda”
by posting on Facebook or on their websites and blogs.

Saying “Thank you” for your
unconditional support of our wounded, injured, and ill service members
seems inadequate to me. I have difficulty finding words strong enough
to express the appreciation and gratitude that comes from the troops
and their families when we gave them the stockings, cookies, cards,
and food that they weren’t expecting.

So many people have given
their time, money, and hearts
to help with our event and each one of you have touched many people
in extraordinarily wonderful ways that we will never know.

Thank you. We appreciate you.

We also thank and are grateful
for our “Defenders of Freedom” for their dedication and commitment
to our country.


Big Tree in the lobby.

“A Different Christmas Poem” (Revised)

Wishing all of you a peaceful holiday season
and ALL the Best in 2011.

Until next time, continued
prayers for our military and their families.

Love and Hugs,


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