The Holidays And Happy New Year!

I posted in October so I guess it is time to do a little writing and reporting so we have some history and all of you folks know what is happening in our lives and what we are doing. I usually have a fun time with Sharon in October, as we celebrate her Birthday and go to the Temple shop and enjoy some time together, but this October we had a wonderful event, as Miss Maddie made her appearance in our lives and brought a lot of blessing for all of us. She is so precious and sweet, with the spirit that all new babies bring, coming from Heavenly Fathers Arms to all of ours. They bring such a wonderful spirit to our homes and we love them so much. So Sharon was with Amy and Mike in California and helping them out, so we went later the next month. met up with Judy, and later had a wonderful lunch with Jess, Crystal, and little Cora Jean, it was so neat to see them and hug and talk with Cora. She is a sweet baby also and reminds me so much of Crystal as she has the same big eyes and fat little cheeks to kiss. She is eight and half months old now. Her eyes are brown like Jess and Judy but big and round like Crystal's. Time passes so swiftly for me now and it seems like yesterday, when Amy and Crystal were little and now they are grown married women. November brought a lot of cold weather to the valley but was dry with sunny cold days. We went to the coast and had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Sharon and Steve, though quiet as all of the kids are pretty far away now. Sharon and I made a wonderful dinner and I made the most delicious chocolate cheesecake, it was yummy. I forgot to mention that I had been sewing all summer on a quilt for my king sized bed. Granny Grace had given me a lot of printed blocks that I kept around for a long time, and one afternoon I decided to do it and so I got them out and started it. A big project and a beautiful one, it turned out really well and though lots of work, fits the bed really well and looks wonderful. It is in pinks, green, and purples, and Cathy helped me with it or I don't think I would have ever finished it, it is so large, It hangs at least 2 feet all the way around it. I love it. Cathy's sister had given her a pillow case for her birthday and so she and I decided to sew some for her kids and grand children and I sew some for a few of mine, mostly the great ones. Although I made a few for grands. I made a dozen and Cathy sewed 16 so we sewed a few. It was fun, and I got started in early November on them and then I decided to make Christmas quilts for the Arnold clan, and Crystal, as they were all married, It was a lot to do but I would've made it but I got sick with a really nasty cold, it started late Thanksgiving night and I got to the doctor the following Tuesday and I had a lot of infection in my lungs plus asthma:-( and had a lot of meds an inhaler, plus something for my cough. I have never coughed so hard in my life. So this lasted for 10 days and I didn't sew a stitch, it was depressing. I was so upset, but I got better and started in again, but decided to sew some of the quilts this summer, I got the three oldest done. I sewed until early in the morning a few days. I also made candy with Nicole and her friend Shane. We made a LOT of stuff, and the next week-end we made some cookies. It was a lot of cooking. I made some truffles that were to die for, and I will post the recipe on the blog later so you will all have it, per your mom's request. I think I made about 15 lbs of candy and several batches of cookies. Still it wasn't as much as I have made in the past. I took a lot of it to Sharon's for Christmas, they all loved it. I gave a lot away, and I took the rest a huge tray loaded to a wedding reception on New year's eve. It had been frozen, and there was a lot left and I gave it all away, as I didn't want anymore of it around. I am glad it is gone. I have gained 3 pounds, and I need to lose it again. We had a wonderful Christmas with Steve, Sharon, and the grandchildren and all of the great ones. We left before Megan, Greg, and Scarlet got there, and so they stopped for a visit with us on the way home. It is always wonderful to have Scarlet, she is so alive and happy, not to mention cute! She usually comes in smiling, but she had been asleep so she took awhile to wake up, but she was really happy when she left, smiling and kissing and waving good-bye, she is so beautiful. So much fun and we do appreciate the effort that Megan and Greg make to come so we can spend time with them. It is a good place to stop so Scarlet can run around and relax a bit from all of the car riding. She loved the kitty, Trapper, I guess she loves dogs too. She really talks a lot now. So Very sweet. I forgot to mention that in early December on the 9th Grandpa and I had our 59th anniversary and went to dinner and saw the play The Sound Of Music on the stage, it was wonderful and we had such a great time. I have a hard time believing we have been married that long. Well I think 2012 is here and we all have goals and plans to fulfill, they talked about that in Sacrament on Sunday, I really enjoyed the talks and the RS lesson which all went together and talked of those things. I love you all and I wish you all a wonderful and Happy and Healthy New Year. God Bless Love you all