Fall started with Del and I taking our annual trip to Utah to visit my mom and see my sisters up in Utah. We like to conference weekend to really be able to spend time with family - and General Conference was, of course, very exciting and informative with new policies and programs being implemented into the church. It was announced that we would only have church for two hours starting in Jan and then that we would have a new manuel to use helping each family to have a Christ Centered and godly home. Plus, there were new temples announced and new missions also. The church is moving forward -
My mother and my sisters all looked really good. I was glad to see that my mom is really feeling pretty good and is taking good care of herself. She misses daddy terribly, but understands the plan and is patient with the Lord's timing in all things. She's doing really well for her age.
I loved, of course, spending time with my sisters - especially Becca, as that's where we always stay and spend the most time. Becca and I are usually able to talk about most anything. We usually share our most secrets with each other and really also try to focus on where we can help with others in the family. Of course, after conference is over, it's always the best to see as much of Rachel as possible. She's had a heavy load to bear recently, with her son Eric. So often, she has a heavy heart. But she also had much to rejoice about as her daughter Rachelle was getting married in November, and Rachel and Mike were leaving that night for a trip to Italy and Spain.
It was such a joyful trip for me, being with these women I love so much.
In November, we did our annual canning of chicken. We went big this year buying 40- 3pd chickens. I took them all apart and we ended up canning a LOT of pints, quarts and chicken stock too. We all worked really hard and had a great sense of accomplishment when we were done.
And a first for this Nana and Papa. Our first grandchild was baptized.
Congratulations to our Preston Michael Crump. So proud of him.
Halloween was filled with face painting and pumpkin carving. I loved watching Emerson paint his mom's face for the first time. He was so tentive and precise with his painting and she was patient and so willing to let him do what he wanted to do.
On the night of an ice cream event we had in Dallas, we ended up having a break of about two hours. So we went in to downtown Dallas and enjoyed some of the cities sights, had dinner at a Chinese place and snuck in a kiss or two.
Thanksgiving was our great holiday this year. We actually started a tradition of our own family football game, which was really fun to watch. And they played serious too. The traditional turkey, potatoes, stuffing and pies were a little sabotoged by me making, by mistake, a terrible gravy for the potatoes. Apparently, there was an apple cider mix on the stove, that I thought was a pan of turkey stock. I thickened it and several put it on their potatoes until we realized what had happened. I was soooo disappointed, but it became the new family Thanksgiving memory. Then, we also continued the family tradition of shooting guns back in our forest. EVERYONE got to shoot: from the youngest to the oldest: both hand guns and rifles. It was really quite fun. We ended the fun day with a fire and samores at the fire pit with the grandkids playing on the trampoline, swings and the slide. A great day filled with much gratitude and more memories.
Before I got sick for the last 2 weeks of the year, Papa and I took the grandkids to the movies and then we had our annual gingerbread house making activity, Kylie and Lexi are so good to now take over some of these great traditions and make sure they get done. I'm so pleased with the amount of time we spent together as family this year making great memories and there will be many more this coming year.
Del is in the ward Elder's quorum presidency - works hard at the Soft Swirlz and Kitty Litter boxes.
I am in the Nursery and love it. Plus had another goal breaking year at work in both production and collections - got a great raise and bonus for it too.
Jordan and Lexi have purchased a home and should be signing papers on it next week and moving in the third week in January. We will miss Emerson and Evie terribly, but it is time for them to move out on their own and start some family traditions of their own. It will be nice to have our home back and be empty nestors once again.
Mike and Kylie are busy with church callings - Mike is Executive Sec. in the Bishopric and Kylie is Young Women's president. Their kids are growing like weeds and are each adorable in the own little lives.
Ammon and Kathryn are almost as happy to be in Texas as we are to have them here. They have both made such great progress in their efforts to return to the church and are now planning on being sealed in the temple in March. We are so proud of them - and some of the spiritual experiences that have happened through this whole process have been profoundly spiritual and uplifting. Heavenly Father has intervened so many times in their behalf and Satan wants nothing more than to stop this from happening. We are very aware of the countless blessings the Lord is sending.
The Lord blessed us beyond what we deserved. He loves us and desires only the best for us. We feel the year was full of His manifestations of His love. We are most grateful and desiring to live His commandments.
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