NOVEMBER~TURKEY DRESSING, GRANDMA'S CHRISTMAS FUDGE

Turkey Dressing

I didn't cook a turkey this year and didn't make dressing, so I had to Google a picture that looks somewhat like the dressing I make.  We ate at a restaurant in Nebraska City with Nathan, Shauna, Joshua and Shauna's parents.  I have to say that the dressing there was so so delicious.  I don't have their recipe, though, so I just have to do mine.  Actually, I don't even have a recipe either, but I can give you directions.  I start with a box of seasoned bread stuffing from the grocery store.  Any brand will do.  I get this because I don't want to go to the trouble of doing the bread myself.  To this, I add a cube of melted butter, one onion chopped fine, several celery sticks, also chopped fine, little pieces of the cooked turkey, a little bit of garlic powder (not too much) a whole lot of powdered sage...to taste, salt, also to taste.  A little fresh chopped parsley looks nice too.  Then I toss it all together and moisten with chicken broth or turkey broth if I have it.  If you have enough juice from the turkey to make gravy and still have enough to put in the dressing, that is the best.  Cover and bake at 350 until it is hot.  It can be baking while you get everything else ready to set out. Don't over bake.  Maybe 20 minutes or so.

Grandma's Christmas Fudge, 

I am going to give you Grandma's recipe and then I'll tell you how I modify it sometimes.  She starts by melting 2 cubes of butter in a heavy saucepan,  4 cups of sugar, then adding 1 can of evaporated milk...(not sweetened condensed milk).  Sprinkle in a little salt (always add a little salt to anything chocolate). Stir until sugar is completely dissolved before you turn on the stove.  Then bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 7 minutes.  While it is boiling, chop pecans (as many or as few as you want), and open one bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and one bag of milk chocolate chips.  When the 7 minutes is up, remove from heat and pour in the chocolate chips and pecans and stir, stir, stir until it isn't shiny any more.  Pour out onto a cookie sheet you have sprayed, and let cool.  

 I have had to change the cooking time because of different elevations.  Even the difference between Mesa and Safford means that you have to cook it a little longer.  I usually boil the milk/sugar/butter mixture for 10 1/2 minutes.  Sometimes I do it for 11 minutes because I like my fudge to be firm, not creamy.  I also only use 1 cube butter and 3 cups sugar.  It still works just fine.  I've even tried using 1 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cup sweetner like splenda or stevia.  That works too. The most important factor is cooking time.  More time means firmer fudge.  Less time makes it creamier, and too much time makes it crumbly.  You might have to experiment and see what you like.

November has been a month of thankfulness, for sure.  Dad and I were released from the Temple presidency on the first of November and Dad started his shift as a sealer on the first.  I took a month off to try to get things ready for Christmas and so that I wouldn't have to get a sub when we went to Nebraska.  I will start my Thursday evening with Dad in December.  I actually miss it.  We are so thankful for the wonderful experience of serving in the temple almost full-time.  It was a joy and gave us an even firmer testimony of the sacred work of redeeming the dead and blessing the lives of the living.  We are also thankful for the blessing and privilege of living in a land that allows us to worship the Lord according to the dictates of our conscience and very thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ that gives us understanding, peace and joy...and an eternal family.

We are most thankful for each one of you, whether you were born to us or sealed to us.  We are thankful for your commitment to live Christ-centered lives and to teach your children the joy of being close to the Lord in all they do.  No matter what problems or heartache or tragedy comes into our lives...and they surely will, for this is mortality, after all...the joy comes from walking those stony paths with the Savior beside us.  

We are thankful for the few family members who celebrate their birthdays in November.

Allison's birthday is the 2nd.

My birthday is the 8th...and I'm thankful to have made it this far!

Theo turned 2 on the 12th.

~OUR NOVEMBER~

I saw these pictures of the Lisbon, Portugal temple.  It looks like it might be bigger than the Gila Valley Temple.  I would love to go to the dedication, but I have no idea when it is.  Maybe someday we'll be able to go attend a session there.

I was so touched by the tragedy of the Campfire in Paradise, California.  Rachel shared this picture, I think.  What a horrible thing to happen in the month of gratitude.  I have read, however, how thankful so many people were to have escaped with their lives and their loved ones.  Accumulated things don't matter so much any more in the face of what's really important, our lives and those of our loved ones.

Here, in the safe, pleasant, warm  Gila Valley, my roses flourished.  They were thankful for the cooler weather and showed their gratitude by being beautiful.

At the end of the month, we had some winter-like weather, with rain here in the valley and snow on the mountain...hot chocolate weather for sure.

~THANKSGIVING~

This was our off year for Thanksgiving, so everyone went separate ways for the holiday.  This is a picture of us with Nathan, Shauna, Josh, Margaret and John Fincher at the restaurant in Nebraska City...the place where Arbor Day was founded.

Joel and Stephanie's family went to Greer with the Laytons.

Daniel and Connie's family celebrated in their new house in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Rebecca's reduced family (only DeWitt and Polly) ate dinner in Pinetop at the casino.  They had a fabulous buffet.

Jeremy and Erika's family celebrated at home with their whole family, including their new son-in-law-to-be and their new grandchild en utero.

Rachel and Tony celebrated with the Alder family, actually, the Watson family.  Darlene's sister lives in Artesia near them. Brandon is going to add a tall gene to their gene pool, it looks like.

Esther and Shad hosted the Brown family at their house...for a week.  It looks like they had fun.  It looks like maybe Esther went a little crazy?

Thomas and Jenn ate at Jenn's sister's house in Gilbert, or is it Queen Creek?  I'm impressed.  They used real plates.

Mary and Tyson ate in Cotton City at his parents' home/theme park.  The kids loved it!

Allison and Taylor ate with his parents...at Allison's house?  I don't know because I think Allison and Taylor are still at the tree farm.

Dallin and Sara had Thanksgiving with friends.

Lindsay and Stetson were in Greer with the Laytons.

Devynne and Brock went to his family for Thanksgiving, I think.

Bethany and Palmer ate with the Jeppesens, after which, Palmer taught Jovie to shoot?

Hannah and Seth ate with the Hacklemans, but this is at an Italian Restaurant at which we all ate the day before Thanksgiving.

Lillian and Kelin ate with the Bleazards in Cedar City.

~OUR NOVEMBER~

We started November in a fun way, going to see grandkids perform in Wizard of Oz.  Lindsay was the  Wicked Witch of the West, Maya was a citizen of Oz, Jared and Henry were Munchkins.  It was really cute and all our kids did a great job.

The next day, Sunday, we had Thomas and Jenn's family(whose kitchen was still unusable) over for dinner, and then we went to the Temple Workers' Devotional.  It was really nice to just sit in the congregation and enjoy it and not have to sit on the stand or stress about speaking or even refreshments.

But the new presidency asked us to stand in a reception line of all things!  I didn't even want a reception for our 50th anniversary because we had stood in 10 reception lines already, (11 if you count being released from the St. Johns stake presidency) and were getting too old to do it again.  But they insisted, so we did it, but in return, I insisted we have a picture taken.  They generally had good attitudes about it.

The next night, the Safford/Thatcher kids had a faux birthday party for me since we were going to be in Gilbert for my birthday.  We had Thomas cater it.  It was delicious and fun.  And I felt a year older...not really.  I've been telling everyone that I'm 73 for the last 6 months 😉

There's a new El Charro sign on the highway, so we drove down to look at it.  It's good, but the directions for getting there are totally lost.

We went to Gilbert on the 9th and went to Hayden's school dinner theater.  The play was The Royal Wedding.  Hayden played Prince Bob, the hapless groom being deceived into marrying the ugly princess, with whom he actually fell in love at the end.  It was hilarious, and Hayden was so so cute in it.  Tayte was the town crier, announcing the beginning of the play and dinner.

Levi and Crew came to the house and brought the chairs that went with our table.  Stephanie had ordered them and Levi put them all together.  It turned out to be a huge job, a lot more work than any of us had anticipated.  We really appreciated his being willing to do it.

The next day, Dad went to Queen Creek to a tractor show at Carrie's and I went to Brody's soccer game.  His team won.  It was the championship too.

Dad took Crew and Bridger and Soren with him and they all enjoyed watching tractors drive up and down the field. I know Dad did.

Then they got some pictures with Carrie and her daughter.

That night we had a Hiatt meeting to decide on the cabin schedule for next year.  It was really neat to be able to invite them to the Lydia house for the meeting and to have plenty of room for them.  Afterward, we went to Joe's Farm Grill together.

Rachel and the twins came to stay at the Lydia house on Saturday night, so they went to Joel's ward with us on Sunday morning.

Joel's church didn't start until 11:00, so Rachel helped me measure and cut apron lengths from the beautiful satin Dad and I found at SAS several months ago.  I am about halfway through with all the aprons for our grandchildren, but I am frantically trying to get them done while I still can.  I can tell my eyes and my hands are already failing.  My brain is on its way too 😒

We all ate at Joel and Stephanie's, where they had a turkey dinner and birthday cake for me.  I felt so loved with the Mesa kids and the Safford kids all celebrating my birthday.

Trick candles!

The next day, Joel and his boys and Jeremy came over to move some furniture upstairs.  Everyone said it couldn't be done, but I knew it could, so I insisted.  It was a pain, I admit, but it got done, and I really appreciated their willingness to see it through.  We invited them to go to lunch to thank them, but Jeremy already had other lunch plans.  Joel and Stephanie and Levi and Crew went with us, though.

Then we went to the movie to see Jane and Emma, a mostly true story about Emma and her black friend in Nauvoo.

And Dad played with Joel's golf carts, driving it around the office buildings.

While we were in Gilbert, Dad mounted a shelf in the bathroom for me.  I need one to put my phone and iPad on instead of having to put them on the floor or in the garbage.  We bought it at Walmart and  since it was too narrow, Mary made it bigger and painted it for us.

One morning,  after we got home, I kept Mary's boys for a little while, so they came with us to look for a Christmas tree.  We checked out Home Depot where the boys had fun with the decorations.  Then we finally bought one at Walmart.  Our old tree was looking shabby, but we still wanted one that would fit in the rotator so the tree would turn and we could see all the kids' and grandkids' ornaments.

The next Sunday was the Primary Program in our ward, with Hyrum, Maya and Henry participating.  They all did such a good job.  It made me happy to see them sing and bear testimony.

Thomas and Jenn had everyone over for dinner that afternoon, to say "thanks" to everyone who helped while their kitchen was being renovated.  He made delicious teriyaki chicken and fed a huge crowd.  It was so delicious, and their kitchen is gorgeous.

After dinner, we went to Gilbert again to be there when the plumber came to install soft water.  We were leaving to Nebraska early Tuesday morning, but needed to be there a day early.  Esther picked us up at the crack of dawn on Tuesday and drove us to the airport.  It was an easy flight and Nebraska was having a warm spell.  It was in the 40's and quite pleasant.  However, the day we left, a cold front moved in and they got freezing rain.  We left just in time, but had a wonderful visit while we were there,

Bethany and Palmer and Jovie came over to see us because they were planning to have Thanksgiving at the Jeppesen's house and would be there the rest of the weekend.  Hannah and Seth also came by, but even though they ate Thanksgiving dinner with the Hackleman's they weren't actually staying with them as they have their own apartment, so they were a little more free to come and visit while we were there.  Anyway, we all went to a very good Italian Restaurant for dinner the first night.

The next day was so relaxing.  Nathan cooked and we ate at home and Dad and Nathan and Seth sat around and made fun of us while Shauna and Hannah and I enjoyed cheesy Christmas movies.  I loved every minute!  Hannah works at a bank in Omaha, but she was off that Wednesday, so we got to visit with her and Seth.

Then on Thursday, we went over early to watch the Macy's parade.  Nathan watches it on NBC so he can see the Broadway reviews that are staged in front of Macy's.  He likes to get an idea of which shows to see when he's in NYC on business.  I've never watched the parade that way.  We always switch back and forth between channels and I didn't even know they did Broadway reviews.  Anyway, I really enjoyed it.  But oh, the performers looked so cold.

Here is Dad, "watching the parade" with Mason, cosily tucked under his legs.  I don't think Dad even knew Mason was under there.

For Thanksgiving dinner, we went to Nebraska City, the place where Arbor Day was started.  We ate in a beautiful lodge where there was a delicious buffet.  It was so nice not to have to clean up!  Of course, we didn't have leftovers, but it was worth it.  Shauna's parents, John and Margaret Fincher also came.  They are moving to Utah in the next few weeks, so we probably won't get to see them much any more.  That's too bad.  We really like them.

The tree they are standing in front of is the tree that Nathan's employees planted for him at the lodge. There's even a plaque with his name and the name of his company on it.

This is inside the lodge while we were waiting for the restaurant to open for dinner, and the salad portion of the buffet.  All so delicious.

We were in Nebraska one more day and went to visit Hannah at the bank (see her picture in Nathan's section) and also drove around to see things as well as visit with Nathan and Shauna and Joshua.  Then we left on Saturday morning at 3:15 to get to the airport.  We called a taxi rather than have Nathan or Josh have to get up that early to take us.  It was a wonderful trip, not too stressful with plenty of time to visit. My kind of trip.

While we were in Nebraska, the Safford kids got together and decorated our house for Christmas!  What a great Christmas gift.  It really took a load off my mind.

There was still work to be done to decorate the tree after we got home, so Jenn and Rachel and their kids helped with that.  We also had a very helpful cheering section as you can see.

On Monday of the next week, we went to the Gila Valley Choir concert, in which both Brianna and Lindsay sing.  It was really a good show, and of course, I enjoyed the parts the girls had the best.

We went to watch Thomas play basketball against Thatcher.  He plays on the 7th grade team and is very good.  He made a 3-pointer.  As we were leaving, we walked out with Robin and Cathy Smith, talking about our grandchildren and the temple, not realizing, of course, that they were going to be in a terrible accident in just a few days.  They were going to see the nativity festival in Central and Robin lost consciousness and wrecked his car.  Cathy was fine, but Robin was severely injured with his back broken in two places.  He is in Tucson, now, awaiting surgery.  Cathy seems hopeful, though, so we will be too.

I promised, after a lot of urging, to take some of my nativities to the nativity display at the Central chapel.  Sister Bishop wanted my lawn nativity, which was in pretty bad shape.  I went out and painted the top part of the Mary and Jesus, but I couldn't get on my knees, so I called for help.  Hyrum came over and painted where I couldn't reach, and Rachel, who came with Sara for her occupational therapy, also pitched in and helped. 

Rebecca came and helped me take my nativities because Dad was sick with a bad cold.  It's a good thing, too, that she came instead of Dad, because she had done it several times before and knew just what to do.  Dad and I would have been totally lost.  Christy Smith, who is one of those in charge,  helped us and is in the picture with me. 

On Friday morning, I attended the funeral of Kay Player, a dear friend from 4th ward.  Dad was still sick, so I went by myself, but I didn't have to sit alone because Rachel and Rebecca came to hear Esther and Marlie sing.  They were accompanied by Harrison.  Matt Player asked Esther to sing "Oh That I Were and Angel," by Wanda Palmer, so she had Marlie sing with her and Harrison accompany her.  The Browns all came as well because they were very close to the Players while they lived in Safford.  We had a full bench.  Afterward, we went to El Charro.  Originally, it was just Rachel's family and Esther's family, but Esther, (and I) invited the Browns and then when we got to EC, Cameron Tregaskes was there alone, so she invited him.  Then Nick Bingham came and she invited him too.  Shad and Cameron and Nick and Matt Player were all very close in High School and Esther was part of their group.  She used to sing with Cameron and Matt a lot at church and other special events.  It was a full room.  Thomas had been told 12 people, so he had only one server back there, but it was Jennifer Marble, and she did a fantastic job in spite of the 10 extra people.

Rebecca wasn't able to go to dinner with us because they had three apartments to clean by that night, getting ready for new renters the next day, December 1st. 

When it was time for Esther and Shad to leave, their little boys did not want to go.  They cried and pleaded, but to no avail.  So Soren and the twins decided to run away to Rebecca's house.  The perfect place to run because they knew Rebecca would be so happy to see them and she would feed them  yummy things.  Esther and Shad looked everywhere for Soren, with everyone else waiting in the car, and then finally decided to check Rebecca's.  She was exhausted from cleaning, but welcomed them with her usual enthusiasm and, of course, fed them yummy things.😋

~NEWS FROM AROUND THE FAMILY~

NATHAN AND SHAUNA

Bethany and Jovie went to Nebraska to stay with her family while Palmer was in Tonga at a dentistry event.  I think they provided dental services to people who need it but can't afford it.  He was enjoying the warmth of the island and Jovie, used to Arizona sunshine, was discovering snow.

Then Palmer joined them before Thanksgiving.

Everyone loved seeing Jovie, who, of course, is the boss.

When we got there, Bethany, Palmer, Jovie, Joshua, Hannah and Seth were all there to greet us.  It was so wonderful seeing them all.  I loved seeing Nathan be a grandpa.

The whole Nathan and Shauna Biggs family

Nathan, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

At Nebraska City with the Nathan Biggs House of Bricks tree.

Waiting for dinner at the lodge

Hannah at her desk in the Bank.  She has her own office, as a personal banker.

Some of Josh's preservationist buildings.  He is getting his Master's degree in Architectural Studies with an emphasis in Historical Preservation at the end of this year, and will move to Omaha to look for a job.  I looked over his Master's Thesis and I was very impressed.  It was well researched and well written.  I hope he can find work in this field, as this seems to be something he is passionate about.

JOEL AND STEPHANIE

Crew and Levi helping to move furniture upstairs.

Darling Junie

Joel and Levi cutting the turkey for my birthday dinner.  Stephanie, Levi and Esther lighting my trick candles.

Crew and Dad on Joel's new toys...golf carts.

The Layton family in Greer for Thanksgiving

DANIEL AND CONNIE

Theo turned 2 on the 12th and had a Toy Story birthday.

Autumn in St. Louis.  What fun!

Autumn days quickly turned to winter days.

Little Rosie looks like a doll I could buy in Walmart. 

Theo surely seems to like her.

Porter and Alta and Aila went to visit Alta's mother this month.

Alonzo gets to be part of the dog-therapy program at the library.

Parker at Grandma Hiatt's organ.  They even got it to work a little.

Putting up their Christmas tree lights on the mountain behind their house.  At night, when they're lit, it looks like floating lights.

Poor Analynn was driving the truck and ran into the fence around the animals' pen.  Luckily, no one was hurt, not even any animals...just the fence.

Getting Thanksgiving dinner ready and making table decorations.

They went out after Thanksgiving to get a tree.  They have lots of places right on their property to cut trees, but it was cold and snowing when they went...so it's a good thing they didn't have to go far.

Shadrach and friends are YouTubing places to have fun if you're in Provo.  This is a place where there is fantastic graffiti.

REBECCA AND SCOTT

Scott has been having to deal with a lot of pain in his legs, and now in his arms, without knowing what is causing it.  He has had an MRI and they saw a mass in his brain.  They still don't know anything, but have an appointment to see the neurologist next week, I think.  Anyway, we are fervently praying for him and for Rebecca and for his doctors that they will know the right things to do for him.  They are both being very brave about it.

Lucy Joyce and Harvey

Rebecca and Scott and DeWitt and Polly went to Oregon to visit Allison and family on the tree farm.

They celebrated Allison's birthday.

And marveled at the acres and acres of thousands of trees.

They really were impressed with the beautiful autumn colors, as well as their beautiful grandchildren.

And Parley, enjoying his first snowfall of the season.

And trimming the tree.

Sara got her hair cut! A lot!  Brave girl.  It looks cute and breezy.

For Thanksgiving, the Evans family went to Pinetop and stayed in a nice cabin, eating dinner at the casino.  The food was delicious; there was a lot of it, and like us, she didn't have to clean anything up afterwards.  They also enjoyed the fun things to do in the forest.

They took a ride and saw Grandma and Grandpa Hiatt's Pinetop house.

Already decorating for Christmas.

JEREMY AND ERIKA

Ellie posted this picture.  No wonder Hayden is so cute!

Well, good news, everybody!  Daynen and Jori are having a baby (our 9th great grandchild) and it's a girl!

I thought this was cute of Ellie..."Aunt practice."

Jeremy, helping to move furniture at our house.

This is the group that was waiting to see Hayden's play.  It was held at their school, which is in the old First Ward building.  That's where Dad and I both went to church when we were young, and where we had our wedding reception and where we attended church the first 5 years of our marriage. It was totally deja vu to be there.

Tayte was the Town Crier, announcing dinner, etc. 

Hayden, the star of the show!  Getting congratulatory hugs all around.

The family (including Drayton, their soon-to-be-son-in-law) at a Diamondbacks' game.

More Thanksgiving merriment.

Erika decorated for Fall, and got a jumpstart on Christmas with her beautiful jewelry tree.

RACHEL AND TONY

True patriots, voting on election day.

Brynlie and Camille were part of a junior high all-state honor choir, so Rachel went down to watch them.  Marlie and Soren came to support them too.

At my birthday dinner that Sunday.

Redecorating going on at the interior designer's house.

A photo shoot with the twins.  They borrowed a neighbor's dog as a prop because the color of his coat  coordinated so well with the scarf they were using.

Camille

Brynlie

They really do look like twins, don't they?

Rachel asked Mary, the family handywoman, to build her a mantel over their fireplace so they would have a place to hang stockings.  After she built it, they painted it.  It looks really good.

One time I asked Rachel to go out and pick my roses because they just needed to be picked.  I not only got a bouquet of roses, but a floral arrangement!

They went to Darlene's aunt's house in Artesia for Thanksgiving.

Brandon's brother got married in Hawaii, so he and Rylie got to go.  November in Hawaii. Gorgeous.

Isabel takes Sara sometimes.  They go to Institute together, and then to lunch.

A photographer friend, loves pictures of Rylie, so she uses Rylie to practice on.  This time, she included all the girls, and even the family, then posted them as advertisement.

So many beautiful people all in one place.  No wonder she likes to use them for models.

Rachel helped Thomas set up for El Charro at "Merry Mainstreet," then helped Delores set up the decorations at the Festival of Trees at the Catholic Church. 

ESTHER AND SHAD

Case's family came to visit, and the whole family was so glad to see him.  He had been practically a part of their family for a long time when Esther was babysitting him.

At the twins' concert and at lunch later.

At my birthday dinner.

Brody's soccer game.  He is the one kicking the ball.  He couldn't find his red socks, so he wore green ones.  I was glad because I could always pick him out from the crowd .  They won.

Bridger at the championship game with Chandler (they lost in double overtime 😔) but he didn't get to play anyway because he had a hurt knee.  That is him in the grey hoodie.

Marlie posts every so often, so I can see her friends and what she is doing.

For Thanksgiving, she posted how thankful she is for her family, especially her amazing dad and beautiful mom.

They hosted the Brown family for Thanksgiving this year, so Harrison gave up his room and stayed at Lydia.  He prepared some food for dinner while he was there...green bean casserole and pecan pie.

Thomas and Jenn's family were also there, as they were having dinner with Jenn's sister.

Esther and Marlie and Harrison going up to the stand to sing "Oh That I Were  An Angel" for Kay Player's funeral.  They were so good.  I was very proud.

THOMAS AND JENN

Kirtlyn enjoying the November sunshine with a neighbor's child.

Maya and Henry in Wizard of Oz. 

At Thomas and Jenn's appreciation dinner.  Yummy teriyaki chicken.

Thomas and Jenn's family stayed at Lydia the night before Thanksgiving because they were having dinner with Jenn's sister.  Marlie was there to hang out with Kirtlyn and to watch Harrison cook, I guess.

After Thanksgiving dinner.

Thomas' 7th grade basketball team played against Thatcher.  The boy he is guarding is his cousin!  Jenn's brother's son.  They live in Thatcher.  Thomas' team won.

Hyrum came over and helped me paint my lawn nativity.

Kirtlyn stirring Grandpa beans at El Charro for "Merry Mainstreet."

After that, Thomas and Rachel went to the Catholic Church to help Delores, his El Charro employee, to set up for Festival of Trees.

MARY AND TYSON

Mary and Rachel, buying what they need for Mary to build a mantel on Rachel's fireplace.  It really looks fantastic.  Good job, Mary.

Lindsay and Jared in Wizard of Oz.

The Gila Valley Choir concert with Brianna and Lindsay.

Jared held out as long as he could, then he just tucked himself into his t-shirt and went to sleep.

After Thanksgiving dinner in Cotton City, they went looking for a Christmas tree.  Alex looks pretty strong!

Then the very next week they went to stay in the cabin, taking their friends, the Hoopes family. Phil came by to show them how to use the fireplace.

Jared found Charlie Naegle's ring.  Look how huge it looks in Jared's little hand.

While they were at the cabin, they drove up to Flagstaff for Santa's Workshop.  Mary said it was really detailed and fantastic.  They gave every kid a teddy bear.

OUR MISSIONARY

Docker is experiencing every season in Boston.  I'm eager to see what spring and summer look like.

Thanksgiving with Chinese members, and gorgeous-looking clam chowder.  I almost wish I liked it.

Boston

SOMETHING TO MAKE YOU SMILE

Isn't this a precious picture.  Home Depot should put it on their website.

Read what it says under the picture.

This made me laugh out loud!

This is sooo me!!!

You never get too mature or too cool to be ridiculous!

Emojis 

Little hands desperately clinging to mom's window.  "Please don't go, mom!"

Docker found this in the metro.  Perfect.  No matter what, even if you can't spell, "Bleaf in urslef."

Harvey, in the spirit of Thanksgiving.  Perfect for ending the November Blog.

~LAST WORDS~

Dad was telling me today that this blog thing is getting out of hand.  It is getting to be too big a deal.  He's so right, of course.  I don't know why I insist on doing it.  Many times, as you know, I have decided to quit doing it, and I have also decided at times just to cut it back and not let it be so extensive.  But I can't seem to control myself in this regard.  When I get pictures of your families, I have to put them on.  I imagine myself, old and decrepit, looking over and over all the blog books, reliving these wonderful times with all our kids and grandkids and great grandkids.  You truly are our joy.  So, once again, I am going to try to scale back next year...certainly not before Christmas, though.  I don't guarantee it.  In any case, I am looking forward to all your Christmas pictures.  December is going to be amazing.  I already have pictures in some of your files of your Christmas trees.  We are so thankful for all of you and we love you more than we can ever say or show.  Just remember: Bleaf in urslef!