Happy Holidays

Hello! I hope your Christmas was a very happy one. We spent ours at my in-laws
and it was lovely, jolly and cosy. We ate lots, exchanged presents and enjoyed some
festive telly on the day. The girls played with their cousins and were excited with all
 the gifts Father Christmas had brought them. There was a moment of panic on
Christmas Eve when I realized I forgot to bring Lulu's main present. We were staying
over for a couple of nights and with the millions of things we had to take along with us,
it was inevitable some items would be left behind. Luckily, Granddad came up with
a clever plan. In the morning there was a letter from Father Christmas. Apparently,
he was already miles away when he saw that Lulu's present was still in his sack but,
as he was heading for Sheffield, he decided to drop it off at our house instead.
Lulu, bless her, believed it all and the gift disaster was averted. Phew! Of course,
she couldn't wait for us to get home after that. When we finally did on Boxing Day,
she couldn't get through our front door fast enough. She was about to burst with
excitement! Anyway, after we'd all settled down, we all went for a walk. It was
wonderful to be outdoors. After all the feasting and celebrating the day before,
it was much needed. As always, we're grateful for our family and feel blessed
 to be able to spend this most special time of the year with them.

The rest of this week has been equally full of excitement. We took the girls to London
and we've had three fantastic days there, showing them round and meeting up with
friends. Today, we've had friends over and we all went for a walk after lunch. That was
lovely. We're now looking forward to a quieter, gentler weekend at home. We don't
have much planned. Hopefully the weather will stay crisp, clear and bright and
we can welcome in the New Year with another beautiful walk in Derbyshire.

Have a great New Year's Eve, whatever your plans are. Let's hope 2017 will be
a better, healthier, kinder, more peaceful year for all of us.