Sunday - May 13, 1979

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

I got already to type your letter and realized all I had was old, old carbon so Daddy and I ran to the store to get some more - we came home just in time to talk to Jeannie and Rick - I surely hope you hadn't been on the phone for a long time - John loves to talk to you when we're not home!!!! We appreciate so much having you all call - thank you so much for remembering me on Mother's Day. We loved your call on Friday, Annie and yours on Saturday Roy - it means so much to us for you to call or write - phone calls are too expensive to be very often.

I have had a wonderful Mother's Day and I can't tell you often enough how much I love being a Mother to such an outstanding and loving family - I feel it is really an honor that I'm not worthy of but I surely do love each one of you. We went to Sunday School and John went home with Bob after Priesthood so they all met us there and then they came over after and had dinner with us - we cooked a steak and had twice-baked potatoes, green beans and onion rings, fruit salad and I made strawberry pie - it was good. After dinner we went to see Aunt Marvel and take her some pie - she loved it - she is doing so good and was thrilled to receive your card Ann. After that we went to look at some homes by the Med Center that Bob and Claire are considering buying - then we went to Sacrament Meeting and Chris and Wayne Smith and their little granddaughter Jamie came home with us - we all had some more pie and they visited for quite awhile. The Cobbs have a big van and had invited us to go to the Temple with them in it - the Smiths and us have always gone together and we had to decide what to do. We decided to go together again and let the Cobbs find someone else to go in their van. We're going to leave the Monday before the Fourth of July and try to spend one day in Washington sight seeing before our Temple Excursion which starts on the fifth - we'll probably go in the Smith's car.

Roy - your scuba diving really sounds fun to Daddy but it scares me to death!!!! Getting forty pounds of clams sounds wonderful - did you really get to make clam chowder with them? We hope so much you will really be careful. Chris Jordin was telling me how worried they were last week because John had gone scuba diving in Lake Quachita - that's not nearly as dangerous as where you're diving Roy. If they have sharks there don't tell me. You must be getting ready for your final exams - we know you'll be happy to have this year over. Congratulations on getting your hospital job again this Summer - that is really super!!!! Dan Watson called today but I didn't get to talk to him - he called to get your phone number. Did you know the Mahans were moving to Kentucky? I haven't heard any of the details but one of my garden club friends told me they were going to leave in about a month - I don't ever see Betty anymore but I still hate to see them move.

Ron and Ann - we have been trying to visualize the lots you are interested in Orem - we don't blame you for wanting to get one up on that bench - that would be such a beautiful view and for a long time. I'm counting the teaching days you have left too Ann - it will be so good for you to be able to relax. We're proud of you for getting your garden all planted - it tickled us to have you describe how Ron got up to go cover your tomato plants so they wouldn't freeze. We think it's wonderful that you plan to go a lot of canning this summer - that is so smart. We have really enjoyed our bottled peaches and hope we'll be able to do at least that many this Summer again. Do you get to go pick your own in Utah? That's one thing they do a lot of here - we picked our own peaches, apples and strawberries and it is a lot cheaper. We're going to go pick strawberries tomorrow, I think. Lots of luck with your gardening. We're interested in your business too and hope you get that going.

Rick and Jean - we are really thrilled you like your job so well Rick. We're anxious to see your yard and also your garden - is your soil pretty good. It is so much fun to get your yard looking pretty when everything is so new but it is also an awful lot of work - have your planted any shrubs? I wish you had a "Sister Wilhite" in your area - she us so sweet and wants to help everyone get their yards started - she gave us so many things for our yard and called the other day and said she has a lilac bush for us and we can't find time to go get it. We hope someone will give you things because they are so expensive to but at a nursery. Daddy has ordered $300 worth of grass to be delivered next week and it will be beautiful but it seems to me that we have to do that every Summer - we have had a hard time getting good grass.

I feel bad not writing a special little section to Bob and Claire. They are doing great and it's really wonderful having them here. I had to go out to Jacksonville last Saturday morning for Relief Society and Bob and Daddy and John had planned to go on a church canoe float trip (Claire was going too). We had so much rain they had to cancel it so Claire decided to stay home and sew and the "men folk" were all going fishing. They finally decided it was too cold and stormy so Bob and Daddy worked all day and fixed the ceiling in our den. They "textured" it and it looks so nice - that has needed to be done for a long, long time and Daddy wanted to wait so Bob could help him. They both like their jobs and their apartment - they would like to buy a home and have some good ones where Bob could walk to the Med center - they haven't decided what to do yet. Bob has been called as Sunday School President and Claire as Young Women's President - they seem to be pretty big jobs but they accepted and I'm sure they'll do a good job. The funny thing is - their apartment isn't in our Ward!!!! They rented it while we were on our trip and didn't realize it - its on the wrong side of the road. Bishop Tolman said he would make an exception since they plan to buy one in our Ward soon - there will probably be a lot of "static"!!!!!

I went to a Garden Club luncheon on Thursday morning - we had new officers installed for next years and Vivian Warner is going to be our President - she will really be good. I really don't have time for that but I just love all the women who are in it and we have so much fun. I sat by Betty Luten and she really gave me the low down on Amy Oliver - that's Randy's former wife and Betty doesn't have one nice thing to say about her. Amy is still a very popular newscaster but she isn't very popular with the Lutens. Tom and Mickey are doing okay now. The Lutens "inherited" Randy's dog and the only way they could keep it was to build a fence so they have a new fence - when Betty came home one day last week she saw the dog was really ill - she rushed it to the Vet. And we haven't heard what was wrong - it appeared to be poisoned.

Dana Woods graduated from Quachita Baptist University on Saturday - she got her degree in Music and is now up to Fayetteville working on her Master's degree in Home Economics. Terry is home for Spring Break and she brought three of her friends with her - they have gone on a camping trip and will be home on Tuesday. We're going to have a "cook-out" for them all on Wednesday - Claire has to work that night but she's going to try to get off long enough to have dinner with us.

We finally got our driveway fixed - that has been such a mess. They came on Tuesday and worked all day - they had big machinery that dug all the old cement up and then they put down new cement and built a "barrier" so people wouldn't drive onto the driveway - would you believe that someone "farmed" it last that night. It's a good thing Daddy didn't know who it was - I have never seen him any madder!!!! It really didn't do a lot of damage - there are tire wheels that will be there forever but it didn't go down into the cement - they drove across it and hit a metal stake that was holding one of the braces and then backed back over it.

I'm really knew deep in Relief Society - we're planning our "Feminine Faire" that will be held June 2 and I am planning the luncheon. I am going to try to make tuna macaroni salad for 200. We'll just finish that and we have to plan the Regional Meetings - our Stake Relief Society is in charge of that department. I enjoy it but it really is going to take a lot of time - I have to visit Relief Societies in Hot Springs and North Little Rock next week - oh me!!!!!

We love you all so much - we're so proud of you and the things you're all busy doing and hope everything is great for you - thanks again for remembering me today!!!
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