Not long ago I published an entry "Well we are still thankful" Which tells what happened on Thanksgiving Day.  Because of this disaster we rescheduled Thanksgiving for December 6.  Thankfully nothing went wrong.  My mom came down to pick up my oldest son and Amy and I rode up in our truck.  Everything ran well, we had to put a little air in the tires for the trip home but when you run on temporary sealant that is normal.  I documented the day with photos and as asked by my loving wife..I included the photos of my interesting ninja act.

Dinner...cooked by my mom and sister

Here is my mom showing off her nice turkey



My sister showing off her contributions of the veggies



Amy educating the boys on the correct way to make a redneck head out of food.  In this work of art is a brussel sprout, with some squash for eyes and nose, mashed potato for a beard and a carefully sculpted black olive to make a ball cap.  The kids would have attempted to make their own work of art but neither one would touch a brussel sprout.



After dinner, those who choose to pollute their lungs with cigarettes gather their winter gear to go outside to smoke.  Well I don't have a jacket so I borrowed my sons.  Evidently one of my kids thought I was trying out for the Ninja squad



I'll leave you to decide if I was really stuck in the neck of an oddly designed hoodie...or did I momentarily forget I was in an audience of my family and got caught in Ninja clothes.

Here is our 2009 family photo.  From the left is my oldest son Donnie, Me, Amy and my youngest son Josh



Here is me with my mom and sister...the ones who cooked up the awesome meal.



Mom with the Boys



And finally our sons year 2009



It turned out to be an awesome day!  Thanks Mom and Carrie!

Amy and I took part in the Holiday Run for Helping hands.  She didn't get the day off as we had hoped but the run was set to start at 1 PM and she didn't need to be into work till 2 PM so we hoped we could do the run and get her back in time to go to work.  We have only missed one Helping Hands run and that was the year I didn't have a wheelchair or a scooter and was seriously limited in mobility  I am able to get around now and we sure didn't want to miss one that helps children who have been abused or neglected.

Here are a few pics from that run:












Here is the article from the local newspaper

Annual Toy Run at Helping Hands makes children's Christmas brighter

As the bikes rode in and the children began to see the toys and teddy bears attached to the bikes, their eyes lit up with joy. The sight of hundreds of bikes, while overwhelming, brought such excitement.

As each biker parked their bike, they gathered their gifts and made a steady stream into Helping Hands, leaving their gifts on a table. Each wore a smile knowing they were making a child's holiday a little brighter.

"It is really great to see so many people show up even when things are really hard," said Director of Helping Hands Carmen Landy. "It is really awesome. We are blessed to see them over and over; they don't stop coming no matter how tough things get with the economy. Today is a remarkable turnout, and everybody's spirits are so high."

Landy thanked everyone who has supported Helping Hands over the past year and invites anybody who is interested in adopting a child for Christmas to give her a call at 648-3456.

"We get new children all the way up until Christmas Day," said Landy.

Helping Hands is a United Way agency that provides 24-hour residential care to child victims of abuse, abandonment or neglect. Residents' ages range from birth to 21 years old.

For more information about Dixie Thunder of Aiken ABATE, visit www.dixiethunderaiken.com.

Contact Rachel Johnson at rjohnson@aikenstandard.com.

Original Article is here-->>http://www.aikenstandard.com/results/1206Toy