By Mardi Gras, translated as: “Fat Tuesday”, is a celebration to enjoy all rich, fatty foods before the lent fasting season. So on Sunday February 23, Lydia’s House family and friends gathered together for this historic celebration. Food and drinks covered the tables, pizza, fresh veggies, and even green frosted brownies, a real feast. Everyone just milled around reconnecting with those they hadn’t seen in a while or those they had. Or danced to Will Smith’s “Getting Jiggy Wit’ It”. Others got in line at the photo booth to get their pictures taken. Still others raced around the room after children.
Celebrating Winter Wellness BINGO
Even though snow blows today, spring is growing near. We had our first backyard cookout (thanks Sue & Marcia!) and are looking forward to Zoo Babies and Ameristop ice cream soon. We also just celebrated the conclusion of “Winter Wellness BINGO.” Winter Wellness BINGO was created last year as winter grey days and holidays, often a trigger for painful memories, loomed ahead. Each guest and staff member was given a BINGO card with various activities to complete over the winter months. This activity gave a language and a framework for having regular conversations about practicing coping skills, building positive relationships,
Life and work in 2019
By Mary Ellen Mitchell, Lydia’s House co-director December 2019 Dear Friends, As I reflect on the last year, first I’m grateful for the opportunity to be in leadership here at Lydia’s House and to have my work and family so integrated in this experiment in shared life and community. Our children are better for it; our days are more meaningful. As such, perhaps the piece of life that stood out most boldly for the Mitchell-Eilerman contingent of this operation was this operation, with Lydia’s House taking a new role in our family as the employer of both me and Ben
Back to School Blessing
This past week, we celebrated our annual Back to School party! It was a community-wide bash like never before. We broke our record for attendees and even unveiled some big new ideas for our community! The yard was full of cheerful kids screaming and running, sticky faces from snow cones, bouncy house jumpers, and taco eaters galore. Our beloved volunteer, Anne, even made homemade ice cream that some literally dreamed about that night. The backyard also featured generous donations of backpacks, clothes, and school supplies from many kind volunteers! The kids loved the new backpacks. Our staff member, Meridith, led
Summer Family Camp
We were very excited to have the opportunity to return to Procter for Family Camp this summer! We traveled up to London, OH together and geared ourselves up for a few days of fun and time spent together. It was a very busy camp this year and it was great to see familiar faces of folks we have come to know over the years of coming to camp. On the first night of camp, we were greeted with a shaving cream whiffle ball game where all families gathered to take a whack at softly pitched whiffle balls filled with shaving