September 12, 1982
Billings, Montana

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

It's about 9 p.m. and we just got home from Glascow - we left here on Friday about noon, had a some conference in Glendive all day Saturday and that night we left for Glascow and got there about 10:00 p.m. and then we started this morning at 7:30 with their District Conference - it reminded me of our District Conference in Arkansas except that ours were a lot better (could be that Daddy was in charge of them, Ha!)

Roy - what a thrill to come into our apartment late Wednesday night - we really love it and can't believe we didn't think of that arrangement. We had to leave for Casper, Wyo. On Tuesday afternoon and Roy didn't go back to Providence until Wednesday morning so he rearranged our apartment - it's so much more comfortable and how we'll probably spend more time up here. I don't need to tell you that we have hardly had time to breathe, let alone worry about how our living quarters looked. Really - I'm afraid our personal lives are being neglected and its okay for us but we just don't want it to have an ill effect on Johnny. We really loved your visit with us Roy - it gave us all a boost. I wish we could have had more time to go to Glacier or just do fun things here in Billings - (we did go to Cody, Wyo. And went through the Buffalo Bill Museum there and then on to the very northern part of Yellowstone and came back by way of Bear Tooth Pass and Red Lodge so it was scenic and fun.) We hope your trip back to school was good and that you're back in the swing of things.

Claire - we were so thrilled to come in tonight and find your newsy letter and the pictures of Michael - that one of Bob blowing his duck call and Michael listening is just precious. He really hasn't changed that much except for getting bigger and older looking - we are sick that he won't even know us when he sees us again. Claire - the opportunity to go to china to select jewelry sounds fabulous and we hope you get to go - I can't even imagine $600,000 in gold jewelry but the way the gold market fluctuates I'm surprised that stores can even sell it. You and Marilyn Harris make a great pair for a decorating class and I would love to take it. Bob - I'll try to hold out until you can give me a face lift - we're really happy that you have about decided on ear, nose and throat for your internship and now we hope you will get in where you want to go. We'd like for you to stay in Little rock so we could come back to see you when our Mission is over - that would really work out good for you too, wouldn't it? If you go someplace else for your internship, we'll have to send Johnny to Little Rock before you move because we surely don't want him to back there for a visit if you're not there.

Annie - I really love those blouses and can't believe how perfect they are - they fit great and the colors and styles will go with everything I have. It's funny - you didn't thin I would like the gray one and I have worn it to the Casper Zone Conference and again in Glendive. I'm going to wear the white one with the cameo pin you gave me to the Zone Conference here in Billings this week and I'll wait to get a ribbon so I can wear the red one the way you said it should be worn. Thank you so much - you really got a good deal on them. We hope you'll be able to get the boat and car to work before it gets too cold to use them. How does Susanna like her school? I'll get little Jessie will miss her while she's gone. I keep for getting we even have little Russell - I think I only held him once!!!!!

Jeannie - it was fun to talk to you the other morning - I was so relieved to find your call wasn't at emergency. We're so thrilled that you are making definite plans to build your home and I think it will be wonderful for Rick's Mom to be with you when your baby comes - that will be so comforting to know that Ricky and Barji are in good hands and she will be so much happier if her sister is wit her - things will work out because you're the kind of person that will make them work out. When are you going to quit working? I worry about you driving back and forth to work during this last month. I wish we could help you but that seems to be the story of my life.

Johnny does so well without parents - Friday night after we got in Glendive I realized that I had forgotten to put an Elder in charge of him so we called back to the Mission Home and asked Elder Hess to make sure he got home okay - Johnny said that when he came in about midnight, Elder Hess was asleep on the couch waiting up for him. I tell you we have the most obedient elders in the world in this house - I have to be really careful what I ask them to do because they will do it right to the letter. We made some new house rules and we asked them to limit their milk drinking to one glass a day plus what they use on their cereal. We have milk delivered and I was constantly running out before the next delivery - well, with this new rule we have too much and so I told them they could drink more but they won't.

It was fun to be in Casper, Wyo. this last week. Do you remember Bonnie and Howard Rhodes from Laramie, Ann and Jean? They live in Casper now and we have corresponded last Christmas time all these years so I called and talked to her - she sounded exactly the same way she did twenty eight years ago and must have visited for about an hour. They must really be doing well - they have a country estate and they go to Mexico for four months every Winter. She said she had to come into town for duplicate bridge treatment and wanted to come to the church to see us but I told her we would be in meetings all day - we lie in two different worlds and besides, I would be afraid she night tell the elders about the "Bloody Mary" part she and I used to give I Laramie - Ha! Their son, Allen (he's the one whose curls you cut off Ann) is a cardiologist in Las Vegas - he went to MIT and then one to Medical School and she said he could go into engineering if he tired of medicine. Their other son, Paul is now President of their company, Mountain States Printing and Lithographing - Paul and Allen are both married and Allen has one little girl.

While we were in Casper - Daddy had a meeting with a member of the High Council over Missionary work and he told them about the new museum planned for Casper - they have asked the church to have a spot in it depicting the Mormon pioneers crossing the North Platte River their covered wagons riding across it on a handmade ferry. Well - a very good artist from Cody - Glen Hopkinson (the one who painted the picture of the prayer rock, Roy) painted a large picture of this scene and it is valued at $8,000. He donated it to the museum with the stipulation that they would have 500 prints of it and sell them for $104 each - so we bought the 257athe one. We want to have it framed really nice and hang in the Mission Home and then take it hoe when you go. Our next project is to get a Charles Russell print of a Montana scene and hang it also. They wee telling us about the ferry in the picture - the members of the church in Casper worked to make a replica of it to put in the museum and it took them three weeks with all the modern equipment and history tells it that it took the Mormon pioneers three days with very crude equipment.

Johnny is kinda' depressed about the kind of people our missionaries are working with - right now two of the Elders in the home are paying for a young couple and their three children to stay in the motel until they can find them an apartment. They have promised they will join the church if we get them an apartment and the man a job. This is a real problem because the missionaries want to help EVERYONE and we can't judge who is worthy of baptism and also is not - if I had my way I would insist they only tract in the nice part of town but the Lord wants everyone to have an opportunity to hear the gospel. One of our missionaries up in the Glascow area has a large lump on his neck and when I asked him about it he said it just started growing there about a year ago - he promised me he would go to the doctor about it tomorrow but I'll bet he doesn't. For the most part the missionaries really lose themselves in the work and daddy doesn't seem to think the lump is anything serious but I would simply die if I thought one of our sons would neglect something like that because he was worried that it would cost too much to have it taken care of!!!!

I hope you will tell everyone in Arkansas and also in Utah who knows us that we think about them all the time and wish so much I had more time to write to more people - we hear from Chris Jordin so often and it means so much to me and I owe her two letters and also Linda Smithers and we haven't even written to Chris and Wayne Smith - we also had a letter from Ellen Mae in Utah - I'll get them all answered soon because we love to receive them.

We love each one of you so very much - please let us know if we can help you in any way and PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO!!!!
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