January 7, 1979 - Sunday

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

We have a beautiful (?????) ice storm this morning - they cancelled Sunday School but they're still going to have Fast Meeting at I and they have told everyone to use their own judgment as to whether or not try to come - some places are much worse than others - Johnny has been out on Ronwood and he says it is really slick but there are cars moving on our street so I imagine we will try to go. Our family had been assigned the Family Spiritual Presentation this morning so it was quite a relief to not have Sunday School.

Annie and Ron - little Susanna is the most beautiful baby we have ever seen and oh how we have loved the pictures you have sent - the one of her in the Razorback Bib would take a prize - and the ones of the day she was blessed look as if she has posed - she is really photogenic and we could cry when we look at them we are so homesick to see her. You have been so thoughtful to send them and tell us about everything and you'll never know how much we appreciate it. Annie - have you gone back to work yet? The main thing you must do is to not feel guilty - it will be a short time and we think it's important that you keep the commitment you had made to your school. I can just imagine how hard it must be to leave her and also to get a schedule that will work - I wish we were closer so we could help - I would love to tend her!!!! Your Christmas pictures are just adorable and your tree and everything looks so much fun.

Jeannie and Rick - we didn't hear from you this week but we have surely thought about you a lot - whenever I hear the weather bulletins that describe the weather in Utah I think about you because you seem to be quite isolated - I would love that!!!! Claire said you were having some kind of a party and that sounded fun. Johnny has some jokes for you Rick - I told him I wouldn't let him use any of the gifts you kids in Utah had sent to him until he wrote and thanked you, so he wrote a letter "Dear Relatives ----" and thanked you and wanted Daddy to take it to the office and have Xerox copies made - needless to say, I put my foot down so now I don't know if he'll write or not.

Roy I couldn't stand it any longer and finally had to call Friday night - Link said you had arrived there about four o'clock in the morning. For those of you who didn't know what happened - we took him to Memphis Thursday night where he was supposed to catch a flight at 8:45 and Link was going to meet him in Boston at 11 p.m. Well - the flight was delayed and wouldn't leave Memphis until 11 so he had to call Ty (not link) and tell him to not come until later. I'll bet you were all really zonked - that's real friendship!!!! We got home from Memphis about 10:15 - we kept hearing on the radio that there was a storm coming but it was very minor - Johnny had hoped that he wouldn't have to go to school Friday morning and didn't do his homework but he had to go. We really loved having you home for the holidays - when I went down in your bedroom Friday morning it was so clean I couldn't believe you had been there for two weeks and also your bathroom - I felt like you were more of a guest than family so leave it dirty next time!!!! You are a very meticulous person and we really are proud of you and hope so much that your finals go okay. I received a notice from Sears that they had sent the sheet but not the mattress pad - I called and they said they were out of stock so they'll send it later - it I can find one (an extra long) I'll send it. Let me know if the sheet fits and it does I'll order another one.

Claire and Bob - it was so fun to talk to you and hear about your skiing trip - we're really happy that you're doing that. We loved your letter Claire - we got it the next day and it told us about your trip to San Francisco - that really sounds fun and we hope you won't have any car trouble - they're going to leave next Wednesday to go to California where Bob will have his interview with the School of Podiatry and Claire will have interviews with some of the stores there. It will be so nice for you to stay with your cousins Claire - are these the people who were there for the wedding? We hope you'll tell them hello for us and also that you will send us a postcard. Johnny was so thrilled to receive your bullet holder for Christmas - it was postmarked from Utah on Dec. 11th and we got it on January 5th - that is hard to believe. We think you are really smart to have podiatry school as a follow up Bob and that would be a wonderful profession - we're keeping our fingers crossed for Arkansas Med. School - Marge Lucas suggested that you paint your face black!!!! She brought you a wedding gift but it's heavy so we'll keep it until..

I finally made a good batch of bread yesterday - white bread. I did not make one good batch all the time Roy was home and that makes me feel so bad - I think I was trying too hard. I went through all my recipes yesterday and found one that sounded good so I tried it and I didn't do forty million other things while I made it and I stayed right with it go it didn't raise too much and it is really very, very good. Marge Lucas said she would come and teach me how to make her recipe of whole wheat bread - I have made five batches and not one of them has been good - they east either makes it rise too fast and it tastes sorta' sour or it doesn't raise at all. I love the Mill and Mix and I promised Daddy I wouldn't by any bread if he would buy it so I must learn how.

They just called and they have cancelled Fast Meeting - we are to hold our own Sacrament Meetings in our homes - it is so much fun to have Daddy home with us for a change. I think one of the reasons I like cold, and snowy weather so much is because it confines him.

We had a Christmas letter from Paula - she had her fifth child on Dec. 23 and it was a little boy - they have four girls and one boy - they have moved back to Salt Lake and she says they love it there. I wish you, Ann and Jean, could see our cards from Phoenix - I'll save them so you can. We had a picture from Marge Mower and her family -Nancy has two children now and that is a beautiful family - I'm so proud of Marge for being able to raise them without Ben!!!! We didn't hear from Ben Dibble this year but we did from most everyone else.

Terry Woods has moved to Fort Worth where she will go to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary - she will work on her Master's degree in outdoor recreation. Dana has gone to Fayetteville where she will work on her Home Economics Degree - she has her music degree from the Quachita University. John Robert has moved in and David is there most of the time. John Robert is really worried about setting up his dental practice - there is no money to be borrowed in Arkansas - they can only get 9 1/2 percent here so they send it out of State where they can get 10 to 11 percent. He doesn't want to go in with anyone else but I think he should for a year or so at least. The Hipps have had a sad Christmas - her brother-in-law has been hospitalized with bone cancer and her sister is an invalid with Parkinson's disease so they are moving them tomorrow to Florida where they will be in a Nursing Home near their daughter. Pete called to tell 'em how much they loved your Christmas card Ann and also the Barbees and the Powers, Woods, Jordins, etc. - that was so thoughtful of you!!!!

Guess what!!!! We are in a new business venture. Have you heard of the International Trade Exchange??? Daddy has heard a lot about it during the past two years - probably because of his position as Stake President because they have contacted him about people who would be interested in have the franchise for Arkansas. Nelson Rivers bought the franchise here and it went over so well that when Dave Gonce decided to get out of the Real Estate business he decided to go into the trade exchange business in Colorado Springs. Well - Nelson offered to let him buy into his here so he decided to stay here instead. Just about two weeks ago they decided to split Houston into two areas because there was so much business for one area. Dave heard about it and wanted to buy into it - his partner in the tomato business here in Little Rock said he would go to Houston to run it if he could have 50 percent of the business so Dave contacted Daddy to see if he would like to go in 25 percent and Dave would have the other 25 percent. Daddy made a lot of long distance phone calls to people in Washington D.C. where it is based and decided it would be worthwhile so he has put quite a bit of money into it - we think it will be fun to have another interest and if it goes over in Houston as well as it has here it will really be good. You buy things using trade dollars instead of cash - I don't understand it well enough to explain it to you but we'll let you know when we make out million dollars!!!!! Our Mission President, Eugene Jones, is in it in Provo so it is in most of the cities where we will be interested in using trade dollars - it is run mostly by people in the church. When the Rivers what to Utah to the temple they paid for most of their expenses with their trade dollars --it should be fun!!!!


Aunt Marvel is doing fine. I haven't heard from the folks in Brigham City for a while - I surely hope Mother is feeling better.

We love you all so very much and really do miss you - please be very careful in everything you do and let us know if we can help you in anyway.


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