Archive for December, 2011

December is a very festive month at Rollins Creek. The Clubhouse calendar is full with people reserving rooms for parties. And it should be full; it’s a wonderful place for a party. The decorating committee did an outstanding job of decorating this year. It has really put me into the Christmas spirit.

Our Foyer

Our Christmas Trees

The Christmas Moose

Last weekend Stan and I had our oldest son’s children for the weekend. Every year his office party is in a hotel in downtown Kansas City so they spend the night and we watch the children for the weekend. We are both happy, they get a free weekend and we get a fun weekend. Over the years we have done several Christmas activities and trips with them but this year we decided to stay closer to home and spend our money locally.

With that in mind, I searched the Carthage Press and the Joplin Globe for ideas. The Press had an article about the Precious Moments Chapel being open this year for visitors at night with all the lights on. The facility had been closed for at least 2 years because of declining interest. We decided to go on Friday night. Stan and I have been to Precious Moments many times in the past with visitors and after a while it gets really old so we haven’t been there for probably 10 years. It was the first time the children had gone. They loved it and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying it too. The path from the store to the Chapel is completely lit with white light sculpture scenes from the Bible. It’s a very peaceful, quiet walk because it is outside of Carthage in the country.

Precious Moments

Anything you see through the eyes of a child is delightful. They loved trying to figure out the Bible stories from the scenes on the walls in the Chapel. In another room there are collections of figurines created by Sam Butcher.The children loved reading the Bible verse that matches a figurine and judging if it really depicts the verse.

After the Chapel we viewed the lights at the Vietnamese Seminary. They set up billions of lights each year called The Way Of Salvation. This is a drive-thru display and several are moving. After “winding the clock”, driving around the square, we went home for hot chocolate and BED!

Next weekend we will have our second son’s children to have fun with. Joplin has it’s Dickens Christmas on Saturday night that we might go to and George Washington Carver park has an old fashioned prairie Christmas celebration durning the day. After two weekends with kids, we will be ready to relax with adults in the clubhouse.