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For many years on Christmas morning, my daughter, Madison, received a personalized letter from Santa. By the time she joined our family, my employer had been writing a Santa letter to his granddaughter for a couple of years. He had closely followed Madison’s adoption journey throughout 1998, and that year he surprised us both with …

After my husband had open-heart surgery, he decided not to shave so that he wouldn’t have to worry with blood thinners. Soon his beard had grown out fully, and he returned to work. His co-workers were simply thrilled to see his new beard and told him that he would make a perfect Santa Claus at …

I was a child in the 40’s, during the heat of World War II, and grew up in a household with my parents, grandparents, a maiden aunt, and a younger brother. Our church’s Christmas festivities were a special highlight each year. A favorite memory is always the Christmas Pageant that my entire family attended together …

Christmas was a very special time when I was a child, and still is today. I was one of six children, and a few days before Christmas, we would go looking for the perfect tree. We had some store-bought ornaments and lights, but we liked to make special ornaments. We all helped decorate the tree, …

On December 22, 2019, my husband, Jimmy, and I had been at Cedarfield exactly four months. This was the day of the Christmas Party in the Fellowship Hall for residents and team members, and we had missed it due to being called out for an emergency. About 4:00 that afternoon, I heard the faintest sound …

While growing up, I spent many happy summers with my cousins at my aunt’s farmhouse in Concord, Virginia. Though we spent many summers there, we never went there for Christmas. As time moved on, my cousins and I had all grown up, married, and had children of our own. My aunt’s generation had all died,

When my grandfather was a young man, he went hunting with Buffalo Bill and shot a moose. The moose head hung in his dining room above the buffet. Every year we went to his place for Christmas dinner, which was a very formal affair of turkey with chestnut dressing served on a silver platter by …

I remember when I was growing up that our family had a wonderful tradition of gathering at midnight on Christmas Eve to receive presents from Santa. My father was one of five boys, and they were all very tall. We had a large extended family and valued gathering together, especially during the holidays. Each year, …

The Merchants Hope Episcopal Church in Prince George is very dear to my family. My grandparents were married there, as were some of my aunts and uncles. There is a long-standing tradition for the children to have a breakfast with Santa during the first week of December. After the breakfast, there is a table with …

Santa does NOT bring live animals on his sleigh!” I said. “But, MOOOOOOM, all I want for Christmas is a dog! A black dog, like Buck!” my seven-year old son, Phillip, said. “Buck” was his aunt’s black lab and the only dog that he was not afraid of. Phillip did not just “say” he was …

I am standing here at the entrance to the Fellowship Hall on July 27, 2020. I have volunteered to be the “sanitizer” — squirting gooey stuff into the hands of all who come to join “Christmas in July” and spend time social distancing with our masks on. We are here to share our stories of …

One summer a friend and I sat eating lunch at a drugstore in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, when I looked across the street and saw a handsome young man who resembled a tall, very thin young man — a friend from high school. We finished our lunches quickly to walk past him, and later that day he …

Upon the announcement of Nancy Brechtelsbauer’s retirement in December of 2016, the search for a new Cedarfield executive director was launched. After several months of searching, Virginia United Methodist Homes, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Shaw to the position starting April 2017. Shaw brings seventeen years of senior living experience to …

04/marked the beginning of a series of 20 events and activities in 20 weeks, which will conclude with a final big bash, Cheers to 20 Years, planned for August. See what has been going on at Cedarfield as we count down the 20 weeks!

Driven 2 Destiny Outreach Center is a non-profit providing outreach and resources to people and families experiencing temporary set-backs due to unemployment, illness or other life-changing events. The center provides vocational training, parenting classes and more. They also offer Christmas Camps that give children a safe place to spend the day when school is closed …

Caring for a loved one with an advanced dementia disease (such as Alzheimer’s) can be overwhelming to families and friends. Statistically, a person with Alzheimer’s disease will live an average of eight years and as many as 20 or more years from the onset of symptoms. Eventually, 24-hour personal care may be required, whether in …