Sept. 23, 1979


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

We are finally having beautiful Fall weather - it rained a lot last week so everything is just like it has been cleaned and it's so pretty!!!

We were so thrilled to have you call last Sunday night Roy - your trip to Maine sounded really wonderful - you said four days of just relaxing and that's what you needed. Does link have relatives in Maine - that seems a long way from Philadelphia to have a second home. I would love to go to Maine sometime - is it like Rhode Island? Did just you and link go or was Ty with you - we'd love to hear more about it. how do you like your classes? Will you have them all in that one building - we're really anxious to hear how everything is going and about your teachers and all. I'll send you some recipes - so many of the casseroles take awhile to cook and I'm not sure you want to spend that much time cooking - Ann and Jean are the good cooks and may be they'll send you some of their recipes. Did you get some cooking equipment? It would be good for you to have a large crock-pot that you could leave cooking all day so your dinner would be ready when you got home. I could live on that bread --- and I would look like it too!!!

Annie - Daddy said you called yesterday and that you and Ron are going to Kansas City today -have you bad a change of heart or do your just want to find out for yourselves? I wish we could have arranged for you to bring Susanna here for us to keep while you went there - if this happens again and we could drive up to get her (Kansas City) we would surely try to do it - we'd love to have her for awhile. We're anxious to hear if this changes your plans- we know you will make the right decision - this is a hard time for you!!! We hope so much that you're feeling better Ann - have you been to the Doctor yet. We loved our visit on the phone the other morning - you seemed so close! Your job sounds good Ann and we hope it isn't too hard on you. Johnny about cried when we told him about Susanna falling out other crib and he gives her a special blessing every night in our prayers that she wouldn't get hurt.

Jennie - Bob and Claire said they had called on Rick's birthday and that you were all doing fine. We hope you had a Happy Birthday Rick - Bob said you had been working late that day. We keep thinking about little Ricky - we can just imagine how much you are enjoying him - we will really start being fun from now on - the first month or so they seem to be just a whole lot of work. We hope that both of your jobs are working out - has anymore in your diet class lost any significant weight, Jennie? It would be good if you could have a "Betty Green" turn into a "Twiggy" wouldn't it????

Guess what!!! We have five little schnauzer puppies-two females and three males. One of the little females is just barely hanging on and will probably die - right now we're bottle feeding her some puppy but we have never had much success with the weak ones - she was the tiniest one of the litter. Daisy had them on Thursday morning - it was really raining and quite cold and Daddy went out in the garage to check on her and she had already had two - so then we had to help with the others. Actually I think Daisy would like us to stay out of it but we think we have to help.

We had our Stake Relief Society Leadership meeting yesterday - that is so much work and takes so much time, you just wouldn't believe it!!! Cissy has all her posters and everything done professionally and to try to compete with that is so hard - besides that she is such a good speaker and devotes all her time to her calling. We are very fortunate to have her in our Stake - she and Charles always come over the night before Leadership meeting and they "set up" their displays in the Relief Society room and Chapel and then they spend the night close by in a Motel sot hey can get to the church early in the morning. I spent all last week preparing for it and my part looked like a child's work compared to hers. When I went to clean up my room I discovered that someone had taken my loose leaf notebook with everything in it - all my supplies for this year - I was so discouraged last night I wanted to throw in the towel but I'm sure I'll get over it. I'm going to write to all the Relief Society Presidents to see if they can find it - they would have had to take it from my room because I didn't ever take it out - I'm sure it was an oversight because they could have taken other things far more valuable if it had been stealing!!!


Daddy and I went to "Parent's Day" at the University Med Center yesterday and it was really nice - I could only go for a few meetings in the morning but Daddy went for all day. We all met in the lounge at 9:00 and Bob was so sweet - he took the day off from studying and met us there and stayed with us - very few of the parents had their sons or daughters with them and we were so happy that Bob would do that because he could tell us so much about everything and show us all around. We met all his instructors and they gave "mini-lectures" - Bob took us to the new building and we just couldn't believe all the equipment - one of the lecture rooms has the professors desk enclosed in the center of the room and he gets something focused under his microscope and it is shown on television sets on the students desks. They have spent millions of dollars on the medical school facilities and Bob tells us they are going to build a new Veteran's hospital right close to the University hospital. We had one of our tours in the anatomy lab where the "cadavers" are and of course they were all closed up in their little (?) boxes but the one I was standing by had a lock of hair hanging out of it and it gave me the creeps - Bob showed us his box. He really loves it and is doing very well -has made high "B's" in all tests so far and we think that's great!!! He said that Ed Lucas is an excellent instructor. He gave one of the lectures yesterday and showed us his research project - he is studying the sleeping habits of cats and we watched the cat on television in his lab and how he monitored it's brain waves - or something!!!

We received our invitations to "Parent's Day" at Brown and oh how we would love to go to it - we have been invited to that each year but the one here is just limited to Freshmen's Parent's. we're going to attend one of those before you have finished at Brown Roy, if we can possible it. I would love to see your med school facilities and meet some of your instructors.

We had a fun evening last Tuesday - one of John Sherwood boys was leaving for a Mission so Daddy had to set him apart. The Sherwoods invited us to come for dinner - they had called right when we got a back from Utah and kept reminding us so we wouldn't forget. Johnny had something at Scouts so he couldn't but Bob and Claire went with us - the Sherwoods live in Mr. Vernon which is about 25 miles this side of Heber Springs. They own 600 acres of the most beautiful farm land and John took us for a ride all over it in his van and then we all sat down to dinner - there were thirty of us - our family and the Sherwoods. It was really a wonderful experience - they have twelve children of their own and have raised two children who were or paned - and they have raised all their own food and really been self-sufficient all their lives. Their children are all really close to the church and they marry and move away for a little while but one by one they all came back so they can be close to their family. We think it is just remarkable - John and Barbara were born in Arizona and about 18 years ago they decided to move to Arkansas and get a farm and raise a big family - we have been here fifteen years and it has only been the last two years that Barbara hasn't been pregnant since we've been here. John said he paid $22,000 for his property when he bought it and it is now worth at least $1,000 an acre we wish we would have his foresight. He has been Branch President at Searcy all this time until a year ago and they have one of the most beautiful chapels in the Stake and the Sherwoods practically built it. I don't have the fortitude or endurance to live the way Barbara Sherwood has but I surely do admire her.

Speaking of farms - we sat by Jim and Carol Brown at the Relief Society Party the other night and Jim said the "Woolley Farm" was the most efficient and productive farm he had ever seen - he said "that Russell Woolley is really a smart man". He was really sorry to hear about the hailstorm that ruined the crops. Jim and Carol have moved from "Taylor Loop" to a home across from Henderson School and they really are much happier - they ride bicycles to church and Carol is nine months pregnant!!!

Daddy has put the parquet wood down in our kitchen and it's really pretty - we have all our kitchen furniture in the living room because we're waiting for a man to come and send the floor and put a finish on it that will with stand any water - in other words we're in a mess.

Don called the other night - he had Cheryl are going to take care of all the food for the wedding anniversary party and Dee and Judy are going to take care of everything else and they said all I had to do was to be there - I told you the folks wanted Dee and Don to do it and that's fine;;;. Elder Boyd Packer is going to be our Conference visitor - we're thrilled.
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