Who Who Whooooo?

A wonderful book that was recently published by a resident of Heart to Home is currently available for purchase on Amazon.com. We are so proud of her achievements with this wonderful book! Purchase your copy today by clicking the Amazon.com link.

Heart to Home | Weekend Fun!

The staff and residents had a fun weekend baking and decorating cookies, arranging flowers and finishing their Valentine's projects!

Lots of smiles!

Heart to Home | Activities with Anne!

A fun game of bingo!

Baking cookies...

Working on a fun Valentine's project (cloth wreath's). We are all looking forward to our Valentine's party!

Heart to Home | Birthday Parties!

We had 2 fun birthday parties over the past week at Mendota Manor! The food and cake requests were picked out by each resident celebrating their big day. Fun was had by all!

Heart to Home | Christmas & New Year

Holidays at Heart to Home have been very enjoyable this year. We've had a full schedule of activities over the past month that have helped make the snow (and rain!) bearable. Here is a list of some of the fun events over the past month:

• "Accordion Pete" (and his chocolate lab!) came to visit and performed a holiday concert last week.
• Melissa, our music therapist, came to perform a special holiday concert for residents, friends and family the weekend before Christmas.
• Lori, our wonderful visiting hairstylist came and 'glamored up' all of the residents for "Grandpa & Grandma Shots". During "Grandpa & Grandma Shots" each resident gets dressed up in fancy clothing with makeup on, jewelry on, etc... and we take beautiful photos.
• We had some very gracious family volunteers come decorate and make beautiful holiday cards.
• Amy and Muffy came and decorated beautiful holiday cookies with all of the residents.
  

Games, crafts, food and visitors aplenty all joined us at Heart to Home over the past month to make this a truly "Magical" time of year. Thank you to all of our dedicated staff, volunteers, ancillary service providers, families, friends and wonderful residents for making 2010 a truly remarkable year at Heart to Home.

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On a special note... We wanted to share some kind words with everyone who help make Heart to Home possible. We were not able to post a PDF version on the blog so we re-typed a holiday card that was sent to us from our visiting music therapist:

"Dear Josh, Amy & all of the staff at Mendota and Mendakota Manors,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you again for the opportunity to work with you and your residents. You have two incredible homes that are clearly among the best of the best in long term care options in the Twin Cities. I would feel very comfortable with my loved one in one of your homes. Not only are the physical structures and operations of your homes incredible, but also you truly do treat the residents with dignity and respect, which sadly is not the standard anymore. From an outsiders perspective it looks more like you are working with family and friends than "residents" which is the way it should be. I commend you again for the care and compassion that you bring to your residents. It is a pleasure and honor to be among your care team. If you could please share this with your whole team I would appreciate it. Thanks again and have a wonderful holiday season!"

- Sincerely, Meslissa Hirokawa, Music Therapist

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Heavenly Hugs by Susan Johnson

Heavenly Hugs are beautiful teddy bears that are made using clothing and jewelry from loved ones. They are wonderful keepsakes for families grieving the loss of a loved one. Pictured above are two of the bears that Susan made using bathrobes from a loved one. You can learn more about ordering a "Heavenly Hug Teddy" by contacting Susan Johnson at (952) 238-1703 or Hopeas@usfamily.net.

Resident Outing | Como Zoo and Conservatory

Perfect weather greets us as we arrive at the Como Zoo and Conservatory!

Heart to Home staff and residents begin arriving via bus.

A view of the conservatory fountain. The lush plants, flowers and fruit were amazing!

A resident enjoys watching a new baby giraffe.

Lunch break for staff, residents and family!

Residents and staff enjoying the sights and sounds of the conservatory...

Heart to Home's residents and staff had a wonderful time during our outing. We would like to send a special thanks to the families that generously donated money to our resident outing fund. Thank you!

Heart to Home | New Board Member 2011

Josh Cesaro, Heart to Home's Administrator and Co-Founder, was recently nominated to the Saint Paul Senior Worker's Board and the Residential Care Providers Network Board. Josh is honored to serve as a board member for these two wonderful organizations.

Heart to Home | State Fair Party

The staff, residents and resident families had a great time at our State Fair Party!

A friendly Great Dane (Athena the dog) came to visit...

Friends and family mixed and mingled...

Some of the fun treats! Including: fresh popcorn, a chocolate fountain, bbq food, balloon art, an ice cream bar... Good times were had by all!

Here is the display of resident crafts for our State Fair Blue Ribbon Competition. Each resident paired up with a staff member and over the course of two weeks worked together making some beautiful artwork, food, crafts, etc... It was a great way for our staff and residents to connect one on one.

Garden Views of Mendakota Manor

Here are some great pictures of Heart to Home's Mendakota Manor garden...

The staff and residents at Mendakota Manor planted some sunflower seeds in the spring and look at them now! They're as tall as the roof!