Blessing House celebrates Valentine's Day with the help of Knights of Columbus Council 13640, Sagrada Familia

The Ross Group of Companies receives the Excellence in Leadership Award, Organization from Leadership Lorain County at the Annual Difference Makers' Gala

The excitement of Christmas is over and the cold of winter has set in. With it comes the calls from families who are struggling, families who have no place to live, families who are having problems paying their utilities, families who need things for their children. We also find this is the time of year when parents have a hard time keeping a positive attitude about things just because of being overwhelmed. I believe there is a lot to the talk about “winter doldrums” that comes with this time of year.

During this time leading up to Christmas, this season of Advent, we are waiting. We are preparing for God to send his son, Jesus, and waiting in anticipation. We all enjoy the singing, shopping, baking cookies, Christmas caroling and decorating that come with the season. But for some of our children, the waiting is much different.

When Amy arrived, she walked to the back hall, took off her shoes and put them on the rack. Then she went to the lobby so she could get her picture taken. After a few more “check-in” procedures, she was ready to join the rest of the children in the playroom.

As we continue to add more information to our new site, here are some of our favorite news items.

What a night! I don’t even think there are words to describe all of the excitement and emotions that I felt at our 10th Rock a Bye Ball Saturday evening. There were so many moments that were so special as 300 people came out to celebrate …the children and families of Blessing House. The ball is always such a wonderful experience. I look forward to seeing so many of our friends and supporters.

Our children love to fingerpaint and it is one of our staff’s favorite activities, too. It is always so much fun to watch the reaction on their faces when they see what “pictures” they have made with their own hands.

It is always interesting to hear a child’s perspective on things. My favorite conversations take place in those informal situations where the children just love to talk and tell you about their day. We hear about what happened at school, the upcoming field trips and what games they played at recess. There is an openness to these innocent children, and what they share about their feelings and their experiences is always amazing to me. And sometimes, it is heartbreaking.

We recently received a visit from a Mom and her 14 month old child. This Mom adopted her daughter when she was just a few months old and now here she was – a happy, smiling toddler, full of joy and laughter.

On behalf of myself and all of us here at Blessing House, I would like to offer my thoughts and prayers to all of our friends at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lorain as they struggle to recover from the devastating fire that destroyed their church building. I was at the service that Pastor Jimmy Masden led in the field across from the church on the Sunday after the fire and was so blessed to witness the faith and courage that was present that morning.

So what does a 10 year old dream about? Becoming a football star, or a baseball star?

We recently said good-bye to Donna Rivera Wells, a board member who has been with us for 10 years. This was really hard for me because Donna has been such a help to me over the years.

No balloons dropped from the ceiling. There were no flashing lights or loud music. Rather, there was a family of 3 children.

It is always such a joy for me when the women from the Sisters of Notre Dame Stretch Your Heart Program come to visit each Summer.

Mom sat on the couch with her eyes averted. She had just walked through the house to see where her boys would be sleeping, eating, playing, taking a bath and brushing their teeth. She had just met the women who would be taking care of them and now she was filling out forms that would tell these ladies about her children.

Summer is in full swing and everyone has been busy at Blessing House. We had several events where we had a chance to make new friends and tell them about Blessing House. We had the Raw Iron Chopper Bike Reveal, our 4th Annual Irish Open (more on this later) and this past weekend we visited folks at the Columbia Station Homecoming Festival and the Lorain International Parade. We made many new friends and appreciate all of the good wishes and donations from everyone who came to see us.

Congratulations to Jesse Srpan on his victory on Discovery Channel’s #BikerLive! Jesse and his crew built a motorcycle from the ground up as part of a competition for this reality show. They beat two other teams and this Saturday everyone will have a chance to see up close and in person the bike that they built.

Recently, I had to go and pick up a child who needed to come to Blessing House because her mom had made some decisions that left her unable to care for her daughter. It was very difficult for this child who sat in the back seat as I, this strange lady who she had never met before, drove her away.

It was so good to see so many come to our Ban the Bruises Family Violence Symposium last week. It shows there are many in our community who are concerned about the growing problem of family violence and want to know more about what they can do to prevent it and help victims.