February 8, 1981
Little Rock, Ark.

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

The Powers just left - we had such a good visit and their little twins are just precious - they look just like I remember Trace - they were really good while they were here - Dianne says they are "colicky" babies but they hardly ever cried. They like San Antonio but they say they would move back to Little Rock in a minute if they had the chance - they brought pictures of their home there and it's beautiful.

First of all - Jeannie we are so proud of the article in the paper - that was really an honor - we hope you sent one to Roy but if you didn't we'll be glad to send him one of the ones we have. I made your chocolate cake for dinner last night and it was really a big hit - Johnny loves it - I didn't frost it but served it with ice cream and left the rest of it in a pan and he has eaten almost all of it just like it is without ice cream or anything - how unusual - chocolate cake with applesauce in it!!!!! It was fun to talk to both of you last night and you sound so good. Barbara Jean has two teeth already and we have laughed at Ricky's, "E I E I OO" - he is always talking in the background and it sounds like he has grown up in just a month!!!

It was good to talk to you too Ann and Ron - I told Daddy about your taking your former renters to court for $400 and he said he would hire an attorney so you could get the full amount they owe you. Do you have them put some money down when they first rent that they don't get back if they do any harm to the apartment? We have our renters give us a $100 deposit and we don't have to give them back them any if they do any damage - the last renters only got $50 back because we had to replace something they took. We surely hope you have better luck with the new ones. I'll bet little Susanna looks darling with her French braids but isn't it hard to get her to sit still long enough to put them in? The Powers' twins reminded us of little Jessie - they are more her complexion than they are Barbara Jeans.

Roy - Robert dropped by to see us for a few minutes last night - he really came at a busy time so he didn't stay very long. We had been waiting dinner for Dianne and Garry and I was sure they were at the door and I was so surprised to see him and then he just sat down and Jeannie called so he said he would come back later - he could see the table was all set and everything. He said he was home to stay for awhile and that's good - he said he liked New Orleans but it wasn't for him and that's all he would say. He really looks good - he said he would be going back to school. We hope everything is going good for you - you have a little break pretty soon, don't you? I asked Robert if he heard if Dan Watson was accepted into Med School here and he hadn't - I surely hope he was. (That's a poorly constructed sentence!)

Ralph Hipp passed away on Wednesday afternoon and they had his funeral on Friday afternoon - Daddy was one of the pallbearers - I couldn't go to the funeral but I drove out to the cemetery for the grave dedication. Pete really looks awful - she is about ten pounds thinner than she was at Christmas time and she was too thin then - Robert was home and he has a beard and doesn't look very good with it. We are wondering what Pete will do with her home - it is really too large for her and yet she loves it so - she'll probably keep it for awhile anyway.

I was invited to a Reading Teacher's workshop last Friday and was excited to go - it had to be the worst thing I have ever attended. It was for all the Math and Reading teachers in the district and it was held at Horace Mann in the auditorium - something was wrong with the heating and it was freezing in there - I caught a terrible cold and I'm sure everyone else did too. It was a pure waste of time and money - we just saw a filmstrip on how the Title I program works. A lady from the District Reading Center is going to come help me for the next two weeks - she'll be there for the first two classes in the mornings. She has taught Reading for a long time so it will be interesting to see how the manages the discipline. I am the first to admit I really have discipline problems - I really don't know how to handle the kids when they don't respond to normal "tactics". She told me a little about the system she wants me to incorporated - you have four rules for classroom behavior and then you reward the students with a D if they obey one of them, a C if they obey two and so on - it seems like a lot of bookkeeping to me but she says she has seen it work and I'm willing to try. Last week I sent ten kids to the principals office one day and of those ten, two were suspended and can't come back until their parents come to reinstate them. I am convinced that sending them out isn't the answer - they would rather be in the alternative classroom than in the reading lab any day. This is wonderful opportunity for me and it's preparing me for something but I don't know what. They have put so much into training me that I don't dare quit now and the pay is a lot better than substituting.

Mother and Daddy called last week - they are so excited about their trip to Israel. They said they loved the snow - they said it was a beautiful sight. They also said that Dee and Judy were worried about their son, Darin, who is in Germany on a Mission because he doesn't write very often - she said she would call the Mission Office in Salt Lake and have them tell him to write - hopefully, they won't do that.

Daddy changed the Bishopric in the Little Rock Second Ward - he puts Louis Ducret in as Bishop to replace, Bishop Shaw. Roy - you met the Ducrets the day you came to church and it was Marge Stewart's wedding. Bishop Shaw has been Bishop for five years and that's a long time - he has a big family so it will be good for him to be able to spend more time with them. He still hasn't heard from Salt Lake concerning his release - they must really be busy. Every big thing he does here, he says "Well, that's my last time to do that" - wouldn't he be surprised if they won't release him????

We had a telephone call from Carol yesterday - she was so excited - she had looked in the telephone book and found two Mellor doctors so she called one of them - she got his receptionist and was asked if she were a patient and Carol said, "No, but I'm member of his family tree" and the receptionist quickly got the Dr. Mellor on the phone. She said he was really, really nice and invited them to dinner last night, and when they couldn't come he kept inviting her until she gave him a commitment for sometime this next week. She said she might not be able to baptize them but they were surely going to try. They are loving their mission - they have just been moved to a place close to Chicago and she said it was freezing but they had a nice apartment and loved it.

I took a goldfish for each one of my Primary children this morning and they were so-o-o excited - there are five little kids and Daddy had fixed them in a little jar with foil on the top - they quickly punched a hole in the foil and two of them tipped over in the classroom - I'm surely they won't live very long but they surely had fun with them this morning.

Connie Bisbee left yesterday to go to Salt Lake for her marriage - Marnita went with her - I am really thrilled for her and hope it works out great because she's sweet girl.

Bob and Claire came over this afternoon to visit with Dianne and Garry for a little while - Claire looked so pretty at church this morning - she had a dress that was bought in England last year for Carolyn and Carolyn had sent it back to Claire - it's a maternity dress. Bob installed a garbage disposal in their home yesterday - he is really handy with things like that and has done so much to their home to improve it.

We hope you have a fun Valentine's Day - this is going to be such a busy week here - we have the Gold and Green Ball on Friday night and then Primary Leadership Meetings (Stake) on Saturday - we are involved in all of them - refreshments, decorating, classes, etc.

We had our Relief Society Work meeting last Tuesday - I am in the knitting class and trying to make some house slippers - I have to keep taking out rows so I'm not very encouraged. Kim Woodworth is our luncheon chairmen - she had that stomach bypass surgery and has lost 150 lbs. - she has to lose that many more - she really looks good - she's such a sweet girl.

Well - that's all the news and then some - we surely do love each one of you - we hope everything is going great for each of you and let us know if we can help you in any way - PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO!!!!!
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