The Joy of the Season at Eden

All was fun and festive at Eden for the holidays! When one or two of the girls catch a case of the “sillies,” it’s very contagious and quick to infect the whole group with giggles and mischief. In mid-December on a Sunday afternoon, a local factory owner donated a big beautiful cake with a thick layer of fluffy frosting. The girls had been studying diligently all afternoon and were ready for some fun after dinner. During the cake cutting, a finger full of frosting found its way onto someone’s face (pictured 2). After a moment’s surprise, the idea caught on. As pieces of cake were passed around, fingers went swiping into the frosting and the girls did a thorough job of making sure everybody’s face became streaked with white. Amid squeals and laughter, and running to dodge the ones armed with ammunition, no one was left un-marked (pictured 3).

Later that week, we dragged out artificial Christmas trees to set up and decorate outside the door of each house, and spent hours cutting out paper snowflakes to adorn the windows. For another holiday flair, we made several different types of Christmas cookies for everyone’s tasting pleasure. Susan, the youngest girl, had fun learning how to make gingerbread men (pictured 4). And possibly the most fun of all was watching the girls open the generously donated Christmas gifts they received. The room was filled with ooohs and aaahs and excited voices as the girls made a grand mess of colored paper while inspecting their new things, from beautiful warm coats to toys and candy (pictured 1). Though I’m used to a traditional Christmas in Colorado, the usual excitement of the season was replaced this year by the joy and blessing of seeing the happiness of these delightful girls. With their New Year’s holiday now here, we’re sure there are more adventures on the way!

(this update was written by Sarah – resident Project Eden volunteer and professional cream cake thrower, pictured in 3 above)