Sunday - March 18, 1979

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

It's a cloudy and rather dreary day here in Little Rock today - yesterday was a beautiful Spring day even though it wasn't very warm. We have really had the coldest Winter I can ever remember here and everyone is anxious for Spring -we'll probably go from 500 to 1100!!!!

Bob - we loved your letter and we'll be so happy to sit down with you and Claire and discuss the pros and cons of buying versus renting a place to live. We were so interested in all the statistics about the cost of homes going up. Our Mission President, Eugene Jones, has a lot of real estate in Utah - really in the Provo area and Daddy had a meeting with him last week and he said that real estate in Utah was really at a stand still and he had told his brothers who are in business with him to stop building homes and just buy land - he said they have several homes in the $100,000.00 class that have been for sale for a long time. There are very few homes for sale in our area so I'm sure it differs wherever you are. Terry had been home this week and with David living in his folk's home it has been like our old neighborhood. John was playing basketball with David last night and when I looked out I was so surprised to see Maxine (Roy's wife) out playing with them so I went over to visit for a little while - she's a lovely woman. We'll bring a phone book for you.

Roy - thanks for your phone call - it was so good to talk to you. I was thrilled to have Jill call us last Sunday before she went back to the University - she just went on and on about the wonderful time they had had on their trip back to see you and Rick Martin. She said it rained a lot but "that didn't let that stop them from having a good time". She really loved Providence and couldn't say enough nice things about your friends and Ty's parents - she said, "that Keith is so-o-o smart" and she said your friend Jeannie was so nice to her. She also said you were having a good semester and loved your classes and also your work - we're happy it isn't as difficult as last semester.

Jeannie and Annie - thank you so much for your phone calls - we can hardly wait to be with you and hug little Susanna and see for ourselves how you are Jean. We are so happy that you have been able to arrange your working schedule to be off some while we're there but we must be sure you don't overdue. Ron - we think it's wonderful that you're spending so much time writing your Grandmother's history and we hope to see what you have done. Rick - we think it's wonderful that you are a full fledged Rotarian - that will open many doors for you and you will be such an asset to them.

We feel bad that Chris Crawford was not accepted into Dental School - we can really relate to that feeling and we hope he has an alternate plan. Winston called us last Monday night to tell us that Ramona was in the intensive care unit at Utah Valley and she was scheduled for open heart surgery in Salt Lake - Daddy wasn't here when he called and I kept thinking that we should call you Bob, because I knew you would call us when you found out and then I didn't do it - we appreciate so much your calling us and we feel so good to know that you will do that. Daddy tried to call Winston Thursday night until late and couldn't get him so he called early (about 6:30) Friday morning and got Margaret - I guess she had come home to be with her Mom - then Winston called back Friday night to tell us Ramona had come through it just fine. Isn't it wonderful what they can do now to prevent heart attacks if you get it done in time?

I talked to Frances James yesterday and she said the nurse at Utah Valley was probably a Griffith - she remember that one of her friends from Virginia was going into nurse's training. (Bob had said he talked with a nurse in the hospital who knew Frances and Virgil in Virginia).

We're all waiting anxiously for Daisy to have her puppies - it was so funny, Johnny had a deal with his Daddy that if they were born while he was at school and they were schnauzers Lynn was to tie a yellow ribbon around one of our trees. Well - she didn't have them but Daddy decided to be funny so he tied a red ribbon and Johnny came screaming in the house thinking they had been born and they were pure-bred - he was so upset!!!!

I just had to type that page over because I had the carbon in backwards - that makes me so upset!!! I just went to get John from Priesthood and had wanted to mail this on our way to Sunday School but I won't be able to get it finished now.

Did you all watch the basketball game on television yesterday - I wanted to cry - the Razorbacks should have won and it was so close. We felt the charging call they had on U.S. Reed was so wrong and that really lost the game. We had wanted so much for the Razorbacks to be playing in the National Finals while we were in Utah next week Weber really has a good team - did you watch that one Rick?

Daddy is really enjoying being home more and it is so good to have him here to answer the phone - I spend so much time talking telephone messages for him. He says it is like being let out of a cage even though he loved his work (that is until a few years ago), but I'm sure that's normal. He will be wanting to do something else before long I'm sure and he has had several letters asking if he would be interested in other work - right now, he isn't but he will need something to do after he gets the house and yard in shape, or he will drive us all crazy!!!!

The Relief Society Birthday dinner was Friday night and I'm glad that is over - I had three people call me Friday to say they couldn't bring their food assignment so I made a main dish, a bean dish, a dessert, and hot rolls on Friday afternoon. I really don't mind the work but I get so cross that we defeat our purpose. We had plenty of food because we had planned for 100 and only 70 came - the missionaries took a lot home with them. I believe the people in our Ward don't want dinners any more so we will just have dessert parties from now on - do you have successful Ward dinner where you are? Linda Smithers was in charge of the decorations and she did the cleverest thing - she went to her wholesale flower place and bought beautiful flowering plants and then put a price tag on them and sold them after the dinner - they really all sold before the dinner. It was a beautiful decoration and no waste - we bought four geraniums for $5.00. She had twenty two and they were all kinds - just beautiful.

I'll finish this after Sunday School - maybe I'll find some more news!!!!

It's after Sunday School but I don't have any news. I did talk to Mary Climer? For a little while - did we ever tell you that she had remarried. Her husband is not a member of the church and they have had a hard time - she is trying to finish and get her RN degree and his business burned up about a month ago - he paints cars and it was a total loss. She has gained a lot of weight and I feel sorry for her.

Linda Smith Garrett and her husband Ken are doing fine - in fact, they're in the project temple class and hope to be able to go to the Temple this Summer. Wayne and Chris will be home in a few weeks from Alabama - they haven't sold their home in Hot Springs yet so I don't know what they're going to do.

Bob - do you remember an Allen Brown? Jim and Carol Brown who are in our ward (they're the ones who used to live in Jerome, Idaho and think so much of the Woolleys) couldn't go to our Relief Society dinner the other night so Carol brought her rice dish over in the afternoon and she had her mother-in-law with her - when I went to the door she said, " I know you - our sons used to have paper routes and I have been here before". Anyway it was Allen Brown and she said he is living in Massachusetts now working on his degree in engineering (I think) and is married and has one child. The older Browns don't live here anymore - they live in New England somewhere and where just here visiting Jim and Carol. Jim is our Elder's Quorum President.

We'll leave here this Saturday and should be in Lehi either Sunday or Monday - we're not going to drive straight through because we'll have to on the way back. We'll look under the mat for the house key if you're not home and please don't prepare for us - we'll go shopping when we get there.

Roy - when is your Spring Break? We would like to come see you the first of May if you're going to be there. Daddy wants to go to the Stamford office to make sure his retirement papers are all in order and then we would go to Providence from there.

We surely do love each one of you and hope everything is going great.

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