Saturday - March 8, 1980
Little Rock, Arkansas

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

I am writing my letter on Saturday this week - tomorrow, Johnny and I are going to Mountain View with Daddy to look at some property for the chapel up there. We are going to leave early in the morning and will probably be back in the late afternoon but I have to give a talk to the Young Adults tomorrow night and I don't know when I'd get my letter written. Daddy has been buying all kinds of property for the church this past month - they are going to think he has gone crazy in Salt Lake - first they decided to get some in Glenwood (close to Hot Springs) to build a chapel on, and then we had an opportunity to buy that property that is close to the Little Rock chapel and he and Bro. Wiggins have spent hours negotiating that and now there is some available in Mtn. View that he wants to look at. This must be an indication that the church is really going to "boom" - we hope so!!!! If the attendance at our meetings last Sunday was any indication of growth we are really growing - everyone is thrilled at the idea of having the meetings all together and they are really supporting it here.

I have been in Jacksonville all day - the Stake Relief Society is planning for our birthday celebration - 138th anniversary on March 17th - and we had a long rehearsal. It is really going to be elaborate - Cissy is so talented and so is Charles and together they have written a beautiful program. We are also planning for the Sesquicentennial Ball here the first of April and you wouldn't believe all they want everyone to do - they want the women to make gowns of the period - 1890's - Daddy and I have been asked to lead the Grand March so I will have to come up with something special. Are they doing all these things in Utah and Rhode Island? (Roy - I want a first hand report, Ha!)

We didn't hear from any of you this week - we have tried to call Ann & Jean this afternoon and will try to call you tomorrow night Roy - that's really the only time we have much luck in reaching you!!! I found a toothpaste tube under the sofa in Daddy's study this morning and I just about cried - little Susanne carried that and a toothbrush all over the house - we are homesick for her and we are dying to see little Ricky because we know he is at the fast growing and fast changing stage and we feel cheated. I'll be happy when March is over - first because it is going to be such a busy, busy month and also because April will take us to Utah so we can see the Woolleys and the Weinerts and right after that we'll be going to see Roy - we figured it up the other night and we'll be traveling 10,000 miles in less than three months. Bob has really been studying this week and we know you have been too Roy - we talked to David Bass last night and he said his Junior year has been ten times easier than either of his two first years so maybe you can look forward to that. I can't imagine being able to absorb that much - ten minutes studying time is my limit!!! How are your diet classes coming Jeannie? There has been a lady with a special diet plan at Dillards all this week and it was $45 for the three days - and that was for about three hours a day.

Johnny is getting ready to go to a "Y" teen dance with Tina Miller. It must be a really fancy affair - he has bought her a corsage and they have reservations for dinner at "Bennigans". This sorta' all happened without my knowledge and I'm not sure I would have given my permission - I remember you "Y" teen dances and they weren't this involved. One thing for sure, he is much too young!!!! He has a little basket ball team - some are members of the church and some are his school friends - and they played the Methodist Children's home team today and they won so they were happy.

We had the church basketball championship games this week - Daddy and John and I went out on Tuesday and Wednesday nights but we couldn't go on Thursday and that was the final games. Little Rock girls and boys teams both went into the finals but they both lost and I guess it was really bad - we heard that they didn't show very good sportsmanship - they had to go into overtime and all and they claimed the refereeing wasn't fair because the best players fowled out. John will get to play next year so it will be more interesting for us then. I saw Jeff Jowers today and he is really a good looking young man - really tall, blond and curly hair - he graduates from high school this year and is planning a career in computer science - they live near Memphis and are in the Memphis Stake - he said his family was doing great.

I have taught out at Ish all this week - in the same Reading Lab again - I really love doing that but the teacher is all recuperated now so I'm sure I won't be out there anymore. I won't be able to teach this next week - I am helping sponsor a bingo party out at "Our Way" on Monday - this is that apartment complex for the physically handicapped but mentally alert and I have to make refreshments for that and then our Garden Club is meeting here on Thursday and I have to get ready for that - maybe I'll teach on Friday if they call me. I also need to get some sewing done - a skirt for the Relief Society Stake Program and also the Ball.

Daddy keeps busy mainly doing church things - he went to Pine Bluff yesterday to attend the Governor's Conference on Family Life - they had this for two days and they were to elect delegates to represent Arkansas in Washington. We had three people from the church hoping to get elected - George Wing, Viola Wilson and LaRaine McChesney but we haven't heard yet who got it. Our weather has been Spring like too so he spends a lot of time in the yard - it won't be long until he can go fishing.

Terry Woods came over this afternoon to bring us some birthday cake - her birthday isn't until April (the same day or thereabouts as your Jeannie) but she won't be home then so they are celebrating it today. She is really a darling girl and seems to be happy with her school work.

I had a really sweet letter from Mother - she seems to have thought over all the things they have said to me and is realizing how "dumb" that was. I was really happy to get it and I hope so much that the worst is over - I doubt it, but I hope it is. We haven't heard anymore about the appraisals on the property - I'm sure that will take quite a while - we'll be glad when it's all over.

Wayne Smith went to Alabama last week-end and brought us home a half - gallon of oysters - we have eaten raw oysters until we look like them and there are still a lot left over. I love oyster stew but none else does. Maybe Bob and Claire will come over tomorrow and help us finish them. Johnny doesn't like them as well as he used to.

What do you think of all the politics????? You can tell I have run out of news when I have to resort to politics!!!! We are disgusted with Pres. Carter but the alternatives seen worse - we can't believe the interest rates soaring to 17 3/4 - Bob and Roy and John will never be able to own a home if things don't change by the time they are ready. Pres. Cobb was telling a group of people the other day that if they go to 20%, if you had to borrow all the money to buy a home, you would pay for it again every five years just on the interest - does that make sense??? Anyway it is ridiculous. Building has come to a complete standstill around here and I'm sure it won't stay this way - Pres. Carter is bound to come up with something.

We had two sister missionaries stay with us the other night - one was from California and the other from Utah - they had just come into the mission field and you could tell they were very apprehensive - they were really young and really cute.

Well, I had better close - we love you each one so very much and we really do miss you - please let us know if we can do anything for you and PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO!!!!!

I just remembered the party Daddy and I went to last night - the North Little Rock Relief Society's Birthday Party. They had a mystery dinner - you ordered things by strange titles like a "spear was a fork" etc. - it was really clever - it was a four course dinner and after each course they took away all the things you had ordered - some people ended up eating with their fingers but we "hid" our forks from the first course and it worked out okay. Lori Wiggins was one of the waitresses and she is really a "doll" and a very sweet girl.

WE LOVE YOU!!!!
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