February 26,1978
Sunday -Little Rock

Dearest Ann & Ron, Jean & Rick, Bob and Roy,

The big news is that Daddy has arrived back home safe and sound but sleepy!!!! He was supposed to get home Wednesday night and we were getting ready to go to the airport when he called us from New York - his plane was late getting in New York from Rome and they had missed their connections to come to Little Rock so they had to spend the night there - he came in Thursday morning about 11:30. Johnny was so disappointed Wed. that I promised to get him out of school so he could go with me to get him - I don't think his teachers thought that was a valid excuse but we did it anyway. He really had a wonderful trip and we're looking forward to the time when he can stay home long enough to tell us about everything - he brought home a lot of books from the different places he visited and we have enjoyed looking at them. He was really exhausted Thursday and went to bed that afternoon and has slept off and on for the past three days - he came home from work Friday about 3 and went to bed until time to get ready for the Gold & Green Ball and then Saturday he had leadership meetings all day and we went to the Gold & Green Ball for the young people last night and today he is having Ward Conferences for the North Little Rock and Jacksonville Wards. He won't get home tonight until about 8, so we'll maybe hear more about his trip tomorrow night for Family Home Evening. He really didn't like Egypt - said there was too much poverty!!!!

Jeannie & Rick - thank you so much for your long wonderful letter and also your phone calls - we'll have to mortgage our souls to pay our telephone bills this month!!!! We are so interested in your plans for employment Rick and we hope so much that you get exactly what you want- it's like Lynn says - most everyone has to try two jobs at least to find the one you want for eternity!!! It's so important that you like what you do. We're so glad that you want to stay where you are . Johnny loved your letter too- he plans to write to those girls in your Primary class, but he wants to wait until his school pictures are ready so he can send them one.

Annie & Ron - thank you so much for your long and wonderful letter too and Johnny loved his. I really am happy with your new habit to write weekly - now we must all start doing that and stop calling so much. We hope Ron is better by now - he is so strong that he must have had a bad virus to put him in bed. We hope you realize how lucky you are to have such good home grown meat and vegetables from Idaho - I think that's really wonderful - your trip sounded so much fun. We're thrilled to hear that Phyllis and Wayne are going on a mission - wouldn't it have been great if they had been sent to Arkansas? They'll be wonderful missionaries and couples do such a good work in the mission field. I'm anxious to see the results of your stained glass class.

Bob - thank you so much for your long and wonderful letter too - Daddy and I were so thrilled to have you express yourself and as I read it I kept thinking of what Ann had said earlier - "I think Bob decided to marry Claire before he even brought her home for Christmas" - she was so right. We are very happy about everything - one thing we have all learned about our family - we can all say how we feel about things and end up with a better feeling towards each other- let's keep it that way!!! Daddy has laughed about his telephone conversation with you Thursday night - he doesn't have the faintest idea what he said - I scolded him for not telling your roommate to tell you to not call back but he said he wanted you to.

Roy - thank your so much for your phone call - I was so thrilled that you called and so was Johnny - he always says I "hog" that conversation but he can't think of anything to say. I have really worried about you all week - you really sounded bad and I hope so much that you're better by now. You'll really have to work to make up those four days lost - that along with the four days lost due to the snow will put you quite far behind. We had a letter yesterday from Brown explaining the snow situation and how the professors were making individual arrangements to make up the classes that were missed- it's not like the Little Rock schools who just go a couple Saturdays. The letter also said the Spring Parent's Day had been cancelled. I'm sorta' hoping your friends from Fayetteville don't go see you in March - it seems to me that you need all the time you can find to get caught up. Ellen Prothro told me that many who had planned to go had found out they couldn't for some reason or another. Ellen is excited about Lisa's wedding but she is also worried that she might not feel well enough to cope with everything. She calls me often in regards to Garth Martin campaign. They put a sign for him up in our yard yesterday but someone came by last night and tore it down - we're going to try to fix it. They had also thrown another sign for the Henry man in our yard - I think it was just kid stuff and not anything against him.

I believe I will probably leave Tuesday morning and take Aunt Marvel to Utah - we'll call Bob tonight to see if he can meet us at the airport - if he can't we'll have to change our schedule. I know this is a bad time for all of you but I'm not coming to have you spend a lot of time with us - if you can come once in a while that will be great but I'm not really planning on your help. If I find that I can't handle it I'll call the Bishop in her ward there and see if there is a woman who can come help. Really - I want her to be in her home once more while it is still like it was when she left it almost three years ago. I know things will change from now on - I want them to change - nothing would please me more than to have Bob and Claire make it a pretty place to live and that's what Aunt Marvel would want too - it's dumb to leave it vacant. I wrote to Grandmother and told her I was planning this and asked her to come help me go through her things but I didn't tell her exactly when I was coming - I also told Dolores I was coming. I want to have the phone connected as soon as possible. Daddy has to go to Louisiana on March 14th for three or four days and then if Winky and Daisy are pregnant (we can't tell yet), their puppies will be born the last week in March - and Daddy has to go out for conference in April - it would be dumb to go out with Aunt Marvel for less than two weeks - anyway considering all these things, right now is the best time to come. I don't like to leave Johnny when he isn't in school.

We had the sweetest letter from Mildred Cantrell - the first time we have heard from her for a long, long time. She had received a Christmas package from relatives in California and they were wrapped in a newspaper that had Lynn's picture in about his new church calling. That is such a coincidence but that is why she wrote. She said Dale was still trying to find himself but he was better than he had been - she wrote. She said he would love to hear from Bob. I'll have the letter copied and send you all one - you would enjoy it.

It's time to get ready for Sacrament Meeting. Marge Lucas writes our Ward Newsletter and she does a super job - she had an article in the one this morning about Bob and Roy. It was so cute - it said, about Bob's engagement, "eat your hearts out girls, you've lost him forever", and for Roy it told about him being involved in "Operations Dig-Out" in Providence. The letter we received from Brown told about that also and said the University students really did a wonderful service for the community in helping shovel snow for the elderly and many others - I don't thing it was worth it though if it made you get the flu.

If my plans work out, I'll be there in Utah before this gets there but I wanted to write to Roy and decided I'd just write my regular letter.

We surely do love each one of you and hope all is going well - please let us know if you need anything.

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