August 22, 1982
Billings, Montana

Dearest Roy, Bob, Claire & Michael, Rick, Jean, Ricky & Barbara Jean and Ron, Ann, Susanna, Jessie and Russell,

This has been an absolutely fabulous week - we have had wonderful letters from each one of you - you just can't imagine how much this "boosts" our spirits!!!!!

Roy - I was going to duplicate yours and send it around but then I thought that wasn't very loyal so I didn't. We were so happy to hear a little about your experiences with the military hospital in San Antonio and also your plans to apply for an internship there next year - you say you have a fifty percent chance of getting one - if you want it we hope you get it - we would love to have you closer to us though - if you get what you want would it be anesthesiology for one year and then option for what you want to specialize in or what? We're looking forward to your visit so you can explain it to us. We hope you will get to visit with the Powers - I think their little twins really lead them a merry chase and Dianne is completely worn out - they are super people though and think the world of you.

Claire - we loved your newsy letter written on your way to New York - we haven't had much Little Rock let Ward news so we loved hearing about everyone. We didn't know that Laneice Lewis had a solo voice either - when black people are talented, they're really talented and we're happy the church is using her. You talked about some of the "weird" people joining the church in Little Rock - I'm here to tell you that Little Rock isn't the only place. Daddy has tried to get the missionaries to proselyte in the higher class areas but they say the others are more receptive to the gospel - we are going to try to turn that around here. The real problem we have here is that the church puts so much emphasis on the Lamanite people and the white people in Montana for the most part really don't like the Indians - what to do, what to do!!!!

Annie and Jeannie - we loved the vocabulary lessons and also the pictures of Ricky and Barji. The Elders all laughed when I read the part of your letter Ann that said the worst way to study words is to just pick them at random from a dictionary - you are going to have to explain your method to me when you come and in the meantime I'll use the part of it I can understand. The picture of Ricky looking at little Barji would take a prize - it looks like he is saying, "She's my sister, isn't she pretty" - you can just tell how proud he is of her. We can't believe that little Susanna is going to the BYU pre-school - what a wonderful opportunity for her. Jeannie - we would simply love to have you come for Thanksgiving - it's going to be hard to not see your little baby before that. Holidays in the Mission Home are going to be for our family - at least the guest rooms will be reserved for your all and most of the other times. Any of the rest of you who can come - we will love to have you. We are praying that Ron won't have to have surgery on his shoulder - I know he is too smart to have it done merely for cosmetic reasons - we're so happy he is better.

Bob - we loved our little visit over the phone - you sounded so good. It's hard for us to visualize little Michael walking - we're looking forward to getting a picture. When Claire told us about him jumping on the mattress it reminded us of how much Susanna and Ricky used to jump at Aunt marvel's home and they would giggle and giggle. We have brought one of those "living room trampolines" and he would love that. We used to walk at least two miles a day when we were in Little Rock but we can't get to it here so we bought this to exercise on - we both really love it. I have been jump roping on it 300 times morning and night but the past couple days I have had terrible charley horses in my legs so I may have to slow down.

I have a request!!!! Would you all please get me a wallet size picture of each of you? Today we ran into a friend of Jeannie's and I was so thrilled to be able to show her a picture of their family - it was taken two years ago this Christmas and I have loved having it - it's the only picture I have that fits in my wallet. Maybe for Christmas - okay????

This morning Daddy and I left at 7 to drive to Lovell, Wyoming and we got home about 7 tonight. We spoke at two of the Wards there and then visited with the Stake President there - let me tell you about that family. Their last name is Abraham and they have the biggest dairy operation in Wyoming and besides that they farm 5,000 acres of grain (barley mostly). They have recently built the most gorgeous home - it is just huge but it is completely isolated without any neighbors. This Summer they were just putting in their yard when she became ill and they found out she had cancer of the lymph glands - she had surgery and has a scar straight down from her left ear to her collar and across to her throat - she said they took out her thyroid gland and other lymph glands. They have ten children and the oldest one just got his mission call to serve in New York where he is going to serve under Pres. Al Choles (All and Rosemary from Phoenix) and he is terrified of being in a big city after living all his life in small Wyoming towns. They have a little baby, one year old. It was so much fun being in their home today - they were making ice cream and there were children everywhere and they were all theirs.

Jimmy Willardsen has been with John and they have had a ball - they have found the cutes girls in all of Billings and they are twins who go to the 4th Ward here. I think everyone here would like to have Johnny become friends with their children - he is doing great. We have had the fair here and they went to it one day and then worked at the church booth another day - they went out on a ranch for a day and John was in Heaven - he brought back a dead rat snake that the Elders are helping his skin and tan. We pulled some strings and got him in the High School that he wanted to go to and he is really happy about that - he is going to take Trigonometry, American Civilization, Chemistry, English and Latin - it starts on the 30th (next Monday) and I think he's a little scared but he has at least half a dozen really good church friends going to it and that will help. He is invited to a "cook out" tomorrow night - the Grandmother of these cute twin girls is giving it at her house and called to invite him. I believe Jimmy is going home on Wednesday - they are so cute - they wear each others clothes and last night about midnight I head them and got up to see what they were doing and they were getting their clothes ready for today and were trying to decide what tie would look the best - I about cracked up!!!!

Daddy and I got to Denver on Wednesday for a Mission President's Seminar - we will fly and will get back here on Friday night and then leave early Saturday morning for a two day Stake Conference in Cody - the Stake President there has invited us to stay with him so that will be fun. I'm looking forward to the Seminar - Loren Dunn is our Area Administrator and he is really good and we will be with the other Mission Presidents and their wives from our area - I believe there are five of us.

We went to a Luau at one of the Wards here last night - it was really nice and they had a "fire dancer" perform. Thursday we went to the Crow Agency for the Crow Fair - our mission couple on the reservations had invited us to come see the parade - they had made a float and it was really neat - we took a lot of pictures and if they're good we'll send you some. The float was all decorated with red roses they had made and on a big shawl they had printed "The Lamanites Shall Blossom as a Rose" - on the float they had Sister Marie Pretty paint Walls who had been the Crow Fair Princess fifty years ago. I have never been to such an authentic cultural thing in my life - they had about 100 tents set up and the Indians all had on such gorgeous costumes and the language for the most part was all in Crow and we couldn't understand a word they were saying. We bought these little feathers (if I can get them in the envelope) for the kids - the little boys wear the long ones attached to a cap and the little girls fasten the small ones in their hair. I love the Indians bight colors.

I have spent a lot of time in the garden this week - we have frozen about twenty quarts of corn and done a lot of dill pickles and bottled some carrots. I need to go out again in the morning and will dig up all the beets and pick beans and bottle them. That is a full time job and next year we'll do it differently - I'll organize the Elders to help each morning - my hands look so terrible to go to Denver but there isn't anything I can do about it.

We surely do love each one of you and appreciate your support so much - Roy - we can hardly wait for your visit (Jeannie asked for your address but it's too late for her to write to you now). Please be careful in everything you do and let us know if we can help you in any way.
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