Barn Yarns: Getting in the spirit...lots to celebrate!

Sorry we haven't posted for a while. It's been very busy in the barn! First, the girls have decided to run a candy cane gram fundraiser to raise money to buy winter clothes for 2-year-old twins who are homeless just now. The girls worked really hard on this project and raised enough money to buy LOTS of warm winter things for the girls. Maybe we can even buy a little toy or two. =) We're going to go shopping on Thursday to pick stuff out, and then we'll still need to do a lot of work to deliver the candy canes next week before everyone leaves for break. Special thanks to Lili, Riz, and Rowan who took on an organizing role with this project...though nearly everyone in the dorm got involved either with marketing, selling, shopping or getting ready to deliver!

Meanwhile, Asha, Rowan S., Rowan H., and Briana are meeting tonight to plan our holiday party on Sunday! They'll be in charge of planning and decorating and shopping for snacks! The party will celebrate the end of a week-long "Secret Snowflake" event in the dorm. Everyone is participating, by leaving small gifts and notes for their person each day. At the party on Sunday, we'll all try to guess who our secret snowflake was and we'll exchange slightly larger gifts and celebrate the end of the year. It's always great fun, because the girls go to great lengths to keep it a secret--they could be future CIA agents! =)

We've also been celebrating Hanukkah, which ends tomorrow night. We like to learn about and celebrate ALL the holidays that our residents celebrate.

Finally, you may have heard that we've been celebrating some more good news in the Barn...Michael and I shared with the girls that we'll be expecting a new addition to the Barn in early June. The girls were so excited that you might have heard the cheers at YOUR house! We're feeling very lucky to be part of such a wonderful extended family, and we're excited to share this adventure with our "other" 29 daughters! =)

Here are some pictures of our dorm getting in the holiday spirit...