December 2, 1979
Little Rock, Arkansas

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

It is a beautiful sunny day but it is very cold - this is my kind of weather!!!! We just came home from Sunday School and Daddy is in meetings all afternoon so Johnny and I are going to try to keep busy and observe the Fast - he is really very good about that and he is good for me because I would eat a little, I'm sure.

Annie - what a wonderful letter - we loved it!!!! Your trip to Jerome sounded so fun and I can just imagine how much Susanna enjoyed being with Russell and Beverley - I hope you will make that trip as often as possible because it is good for all of you and I also hope we'll live closer in the near future so you'll visit us often. Tomorrow is your birthday Annie - wish we could celebrate in person - I'm sure your gift won't get there in time - I don't seem to be able to get in gear far enough in advance - we hope you have a wonderfully happy day!!!! We're so anxious to have you move into your new home and your rental prospects for your home now sound great.

We haven't heard from you Jeannie or Roy but I'm sure you're doing fine - we hope so. We have told everyone about your plans to come for the holidays (Weinerts) and they're all anxious to see you and especially Ricky. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather is good because we surely don't want you traveling on ice and snow. We hope you have made your plane reservations Roy - do you remember the long wait you had in Memphis last year on your way back to school???? We hope school is going good. The situation in Iran really sounds serious and I always worry about the possibility of war - I'm so glad that you are in med. school because that would give you an exemption wouldn't it?

Linda Smith Garrett has a new baby girl - Jennifer Renae - she was born last Wednesday afternoon and Linda was at Sunday School this morning and looks so good - she and Ken are doing great now and they are both so thrilled with their family. Chris and Wayne are here helping out and Chris will stay until after Christmas but Wayne has to go back down to Alabama.

I talked to Clarence Wilson last night and he said Becky (Ewing) and her husband will be here for Christmas - I'm anxious to see her again and to meet him.

Last night was our big Stake Christmas party and it was a tremendous success - we served about five hundred people - we had ham, turkey, potato salad, fruit salad, hot rolls, vegetables and dip, punch and all kinds of cookies. I fought Cissy on the menu - I thought we could do away with the "sit down" dinner because it is such a hassle to have the tables taken from the Little Rock chapel over to Jacksonville but she won out and I guess it was a good thing because everyone loved it. Daddy and I got all the food and I was over there Friday afternoon until late and from early yesterday morning until about 11 last night - I have never been any more tired - I had taken off my shoes towards the end and I could hardly walk when I got home. After the dinner was over they showed the film "Windows of Heaven" so it lasted until about 10 p.m. I'm so glad it's all over and we can settle down to planning Christmas for our family - each year for the past four years I have been involved in that and it usually is planned for the day Roy gets home!!!!

I taught school everyday last week except for Wednesday and that's Relief Society. Some of the days I just taught for half a day - that makes it nice because I'm not gone from home for very long. I really had a funny experience at Woodruff School - I taught second grade there and they had a program for them in the cafeteria from the Arts Center. My class was all seated on the floor and one of the little girls came running up to me and said "Joshus has spit all over the floor" - it looked like "throw-up" so I ran to get some paper toweling and also the janitor - well , it turned out that he had been chewing tobacco - can you imagine - a second grader!!!! He wasn't the slightest bit upset by it - I got him aside and asked him if he were ill and he said "No Ma'am, I'm just fine". The classes are practically all black - our public schools in Little Rock now are 65% black. I taught 8th grade at Henderson on Friday and it was "Reading" - I'm really not qualified for that and many of the students are on the second grade reading level but they have the "High Intensified" booklets (I'm sure you know all about that Ann) and each one of them was on a different section - it was maddening and the discipline was terrible - I went up to one of the big black boys and took him by the arm and told him to sit down- he doubled up his fist and shook it at me and said "You get your hands off me" - it really scared me because all the other kids were so unruly so I pushed the "panic" button and the vice-principal was there in just a minute and took the kid out. I decided to teach what I wanted for the rest of the day - I dictated poetry to them for them to copy (some of them couldn't even write) and then we discussed it and I didn't have any more problems - it's when you stop to give individual attention that I lose them. I may refuse to teach any more "reading" classes.

Bob and Claire are doing fine - Bob and John and Daddy went duck hunting on Thursday morning - they got two but they all there fell in and they were all wet and cold when they got home. They love it so much and I'm so thankful I don't have to go. Claire's sister Carolyn is engaged to a boy from Salt Lake - I may have told you that. They are going to get married in April and Claire will go out for the wedding so she's looking forward to that and her folks will be there for it also. Bob really is studying a lot but he does a good job in his church calling and she does too. She says she loves her job now because the stores are all so busy with Christmas and all.

Aunt Marvel is doing fine - Daddy and I went over there the other day and she kept looking at Daddy sorta' funny like she didn't recognize him - sometimes we think she doesn't know people - I pointed to him and asked her who he was and she said - Ezra Taft Benson. It is really funny some of the things she says - yesterday she called him Bob and she has called me Hilda before so she is more confused. There are still times when she is completely rational. I have always said that it would really be hard for me to go see her if she ever gets so she doesn't know me because that is so heart breaking. The nurses and everyone at the Rest home just love her - basically she is a very sweet and kind woman who is concerned about other people.

I haven't heard from the Brigham City family - I'm sure they are all fine and getting excited about Bart coming home from his Mission - he comes home around Dec. 20th I think.

Well - I can't think of any more news. We surely do love each one of you - we hope so much that everything is really going good for you - please let us know if we can do anything for you.

***HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW ANNIE***
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