In my defense-Great Grandma's Honey Candy

So I worked my children hard, hard, hard to get our extraction project finished for Christmas. I really wasn't as bad of a tiger mom as it sounded on the blog. Yes, we worked on recording family group sheets right up to 11:30 am Christmas Eve. And no, we hadn't baked any Christmas cookies or cooked a beautiful Christmas Dinner. But in my defense, that was because we were blessed this last Christmas to be able to go to my Mom and Dad's for the holiday. We were free to be able to work on the family history because I knew all the preparations were already set thanks to my Mom and Dad and my sisters who had worked to create a wonderful Christmas celebration waiting for us.

When we went up to Mom and Dad's on Christmas eve, we got there just in time to make Honey Candy. The recipe is one of our traditional family recipes that we make every year for Christmas. My great great grandmother Ethel Amelia Williams was born on the 15th of February 1880 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She married Fred Schwendiman on the 7th of January 1897 and died on the 23 of March in 1973. She raised 5 children including my great-grandmother Viola Schwendiman. She made this recipe along with several others that have become family favorites. I met Grandma Schwendiman in 1970 when we went to Idaho to visit her. I have a picture with my mom and I, Mom's mother Eila Dana, and Grandma Schwendiman. If my great-grandmother Viola had been there we would have had a full 5 generation picture. But Grandma Schwendiman's honey candy is a family favorite that sends Mom's cousins back to their childhood, and encircles my new brother-in-laws into the family.

This year we took videos while Mom made the candy. You can hear the gorgeous sounds of my nieces and nephews, sisters and brother-in-laws all gathered for Christmas in the background. It feels so good to have captured my Mother in all of her "Christmas preparations" glory. I hope you enjoy being part of our family for a few minutes. I just wish I could give you a taste through the blog. You'll just have to come visit next Christmas--but be prepared to help with the extraction if you come. :)



and part 2:



Thank you thank you to my 15 year old son for editing the videos into a coherent flow. He even put his great-great grandmother's picture in the corner. How cool is that? And there's outtakes too. Enjoy.