Hayride

Our church got together for an "old fashioned" hayride. The afternoon & early evening was brisk but not too cold and we loaded up on Pastor Todd's tractor & trailer to go caroling. We loaded up in the back parking lot of the church and then, by the time we reached the front parking lot, had to unload because the trailer had a flat tire.

before the flat tire

It was like watching a professional pit crew as Jimmy and Wes took the tire off and rushed to Chaparral Tire to get it fixed. (A phone call alerted them to the situation and they remained open an extra 1/2 hour for us!) The tire was beyond repair so the good folks at Chaparral, intriqued by our adventure, sold us a used replacement for only $5. So, with four good tires, we loaded up onto the hay bales again and headed west on First Street to Evergreen Nursing Home. We had fun singing carols along the way and waving at people as they drove by.

singing at the nursing home

We went into the nursing home and talked with the people there and shared Christmas carols. We were horribly off tune, even with Julian's guitar, but our music was much appreciated. We made additional stops at the San Luis Care Center and the SLVRMC Hospital. We found ourselves in the OB wing at the hospital and saw a newborn baby held by it's mother as we croaned "Silent Night". It was surreal.


Jamie on a hay bale

Jamie had a great time! He fell asleep on the way to Evergreen but after that, he was trying to sing the carols with us. He got really good at "Jingle Bells" before the night was over. We came back to the church and Sid & Wilma Faye had prepared a chili dinner for us that was yummy! It was fun to focus on singing the carols and to spend time with others who are less fortunate during the holiday season. After dinner, we went to the Cooper's house and to Helen's house (two of the elderly members of our congregation) and shared our off tune carols with them as well.