February 22, 1988 Orem, Utah

Dearest Johnny; Roy & Patrice; Bob, Claire, Michael, Laura & Brett; Rick, Jean, Ricky, Barbara Jean, Mary Ann & Sarah; and Ron, Ann, Susanna, Jessie, Russell, LeeAnna & Jimmy:

It's Monday morning and a really gorgeous day - it looks warmer outside than it is though - it looks like Summer but it's cold. I love this kind of weather!!!!!

Roy is here with us and we are enjoying him SO much - it reminds me of the feeling I used to have when all of you were home and I wanted to put our family under a parachute and not let any of you escape - Ha!!!! That's dumb, isn't it???? He goes to his meetings in Salt Lake every morning, leaving here about 5:30 and then he is through about noon. He and Johnny went skiing on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and they said it has been fun - Johnny comes home with a real sunburn on his face but Roy's complexion is like mine and it doesn't color much. We're happy the weather has been good - I guess the skiing would be better if they had some fresh snow but at least there is enough to ski on. I remember one February when there wasn't good skiing. Patrice - we hope you're doing fine - Roy says you always keep plenty busy so you won't miss him - Ha! We're so glad you are feeling good and that everything is going to way it should.

Claire - we hope so much that you are feeling better by now. Bob told us the doctor had put her to bed because of the varicose veins in her legs - the Relief Society was helping out and Bob said they had more food than they knew what to do with. I wish we were closer so we could help - if we had been smart enough when we were there we would have tried to bring Brett back home with us. When you have one his age he is your greatest concern - Brett is SO good and plays by himself so well but still you have to be able to care for him. I should have made some casseroles and things for you and put them in the freezer - you didn't tell us how bad your legs were!!!!

We had a great report from Daddy's doctor last week - really the first optimistic one we have had!!!!! Daddy had an appointment with Dr. Brown on Tuesday and when he listened to his lungs he decided to have them x-rayed along with a cervical spine x-ray and blood tests and he said he wanted to see us early Wednesday morning. When we saw him he showed us the x-rays and said he didn't have anything to compare the chest x-rays with but he wasn't too concerned about them - the spine x-ray was really interesting - the bones have complet4ely rebuilt and they look as normal as the rest of his spine. He was really excited about the acid phosphotase (sp.?) results - it was 3.0 when Daddy first went to the urologist, then it went to 5 and now it is down to 1.1 - normal is 0.8. He said that indicated good results from the orchiectomy. We don't have our heads in the sand - we know what we're up against but we are going to be optimistic!!!!!

Daddy's cold and chest congestion is SO much better - the medicine you have prescribed for him Bob, has done the job. He still has a lot of head congestion and it reminds me of the thing he had while we were in Billings and it seems like it just has to wear itself out - it really affects his ears and he can't hear very well. He does have a hernia down in the groin area from all his coughing - he has an appointment with Dr. Middleton on March 3rd to see about that - Dr. Brown suggested a truss instead of surgery.

Jeannie & Rick have an exciting week!!! Rick has to go to Lake Tahoe and Jean gets to join him for the weekend. They think they have their home sold but they're not sure. We plan to go up sometime before Roy leaves and see the new one they are looking at - Jeannie says we will "just love it"!!!!

Annie & Ron had a big church meeting at their home last night - I guess they had about 65 for a fireside. Roy & Johnny went - Roy played with the children and Johnny said he enjoyed the meeting - it was a talk by their Stake President, Merrill Bateman, and I guess the main thing was on food storage!!!!

Well - we have a darling little schnauzer and we have named him Hans Bologna!!!! We took him to the vet this morning to get his ears cropped and will get him home on Wednesday. He has been really easy to train - the worst accident he had was on one of our Oriental rugs - wouldn't you believe it???? He looks like our other Hans - salt & pepper - we think he's darling and he loves Johnny and I believe he studies with him. We keep him in Daddy's work room and Daddy has made barriers so he can't go into the living or dining rooms. We had to go to Magna to get him - his owners raise schnauzers and you just wouldn't believe their home. They must have had thirty schnauzers in it and then a fenced in area just off from their kitchen where they could go. It was just awful and we almost turned around and came home without a dog. We would have bought a 6 week old puppy for $225 but we chose Hans because he was older, (4 month), and seemed really healthy and we saw his parents and we knew what he would look like - we paid $175 for him and it will cost $75 to have his ears fixed so we have a lot invested in him. We sold our puppies in Little Rock for $100 - $125 so they have gone up in price!!!

That's all the news. We love each one of you so very much. PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Let us know how we can help you!!!!
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