Greetings from “The Home” front …

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the halls of LMH!!! The activity elves were busy on Monday and Tuesday putting up Christmas trees, wreaths and other holiday décor throughout the facility. Our resident door decorating contest doesn’t start for another week but staff are already signing up to decorate a resident’s door. Prizes will be given in several categories.

There are several other special activities planned throughout the month of December.

On Thursday it was Grinch Day and we had an all-shift potluck when staff brought their favorite food to share with others. There were lots of fun and unique foods to sample. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Our famous Cookie Sampler will be Tuesday December 6th. This delicious tradition has been going on for over 20 years. Staff sign up to bake/bring cookies for our residents to sample. It is a festive event in the dining room as everyone goes through the line to pick out their favorite cookies to enjoy.
Later on this month – December 21st to be exact – we will be having an ugly sweater contest. Plus, there will be judging of the door decorations and winners will be announced.

Besides decorating we did other activities with our residents this week. Monday night there was Bingo and Tuesday brought Newscurrents in the morning and a Christmas movie in the afternoon. On Wednesday we had Name That Tune and then the crafty crafters made Christmas ornaments that featured a picture of our therapy dog Princess. The crafters made an ornament for every LMH resident and were they ever cute. Princess is a popular canine around here! Pastor Deb was here for Bible Study on Thursday morning and then residents got their photos taken in a Christmas setting. They can use the photos as gifts to family/friends or to put in their Christmas cards. We also had Bingo in the evening. Pastor Deb was back for Church and Communion on Friday morning and we continued with our Resident Christmas pictures.

ChiChi leads Sit & Be Fit on Saturday followed by Bingo and Wheel of Fortune. She will also be back on Sunday for Karaoke. We get a big turnout for that fun event. There is Trivia, Bunco, and Bingo on Monday. Newscurrents on Tuesday morning and the above-mentioned Cookie Sampler in the afternoon. After Christmas Choir on Wednesday, the crafty crafters will be making a reindeer door/window hanger. We will be Reminiscing about Holiday Gift Giving on Thursday and the ladies will get their nails done in the afternoon. There is also Bingo in the evening. Friday brings Church in the morning and TGIF Happy ½ hour later on.

We are welcoming our new Administrator, Brittany Ness. Brittany has a BS in nursing and a master’s in healthcare administration plus she is a local gal – can’t get better credentials than that!!! She will join our staff in January. Welcome Aboard Brittany. Alas, we are also saying goodbye to our Human Resource specialist, Heather Satrom, who left us November 30th. We will miss her but also wish her the best of luck as she pursues new adventures.

We only have one resident birthday the whole month of December and it is this week! Ralph Rucinski’s birthday is December 5th. However, we have several staff members with upcoming birthdays – Mary Turpin and Peggy Erickson on December 5th; Breanna Sayler and Abby Lande on December 6th; Jeanne Walden and Arlys Balstad on December 7th and Samantha Trosen on December 9th. Happy Birthday to all of you and enjoy your special day!

Until next time … a thought for the week … You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results ….