November 2, 1993

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

I just came home from the dentist and I'm sitting close by the phone and excited for it to ring. I called Roy & Patrice this morning and talked to Suzie and she said they had gone to the hospital earlier and she was sure they would be calling me soon. I have thought about them constantly for the last few days and last night I dreamt that Timothy was carrying their baby in his backpack so I knew I had to call. Suzie is there to help them and I know they really appreciate her!!!

I didn't write my letter yesterday because I had my Family Home Evening group in last night. I believe I have all my entertaining done for awhile. I made a buttermilk pie because Ann had said it was really good - Francis' James' recipe. That is the first desert I have ever served to this group that they liked so I highly recommend it to you. I just served small pieces because it is very rich and one man even asked for a second piece - I couldn't believe it!!! I also made hot wassail and it was good with it - it has turned cold here. We had a fun time playing "Hearts".

Sunday was a special day for me. John had called and said that his friend girl from Las Vegas was in town so I asked them to come to dinner after their church. Well - I made lasagna because that is easy and you can't make a small lasagna so here I was with this big dinner and I knew it would look funny on the table. I got home from church a little before John did and soon after I came home, the Weinerts came - Kinda' like an answer to prayer because I knew I couldn't invite anyone and make it a bigger deal than John wanted. We had so much fun eating together and then the Woolleys called and said they would be over for Family Home Evening - I didn't dare tell them who was here or they wouldn't have come. As it turned out we had a family party without any planning and it was WONDERFUL!!! John's friend, Julianna Hunter, is just darling and she had Monday off teaching so she had come to Utah for the weekend.

I haven't heard from the Bob Mellors - I hope Claire and the children had a great time in California and have come home safe and sound. Jeannie said her time in California was very productive and she had a good time and the children said that Rick fixed them a Thanksgiving dinner while she was gone.

While I had some "manpower" on Sunday they said they would drain my sprinkler system for the Winter. I have this big long iron pole that goes way down in the ground to turn off the valve for the water and John has done it every Fall for the last five years or more. Well - they got the water turned off okay but they couldn't get the pole out of the ground. It turned out to be hilarious as John, Rick and Ron were all pulling on it and it just wouldn't come loose. I have put a red thing on it so people won't stumble over it coming into the yard. My Home Teacher, Steve Frisby, came over on Sunday evening and he said he could get it out but he hasn't done it yet.

I surely do have a "traveling family". Ann & Ron are going to San Antonio this weekend - they leave on Thursday and will come home on Sunday. I offered to care for their children while they're gone but I think they don't think I'm "up to it" so they have hired a young neighborhood couple to come stay with them. Jean & Rick are going to St. Thomas the middle of the month and I will care for their children from the 16th to the 20th - I'm looking forward to it!!!

The fires in California have been such a tragedy. I talked to Dianne on Saturday and she said they came within seven miles of them. I also called Carol Ann in San Bernadino - she wasn't home but I talked to their maid and she said they weren't even close to them. It's Carol Ann's birthday this Saturday and she will be 52 years old - that's hard for me to believe!!!

Halloween was a lot of fun for me. I had passed out my 250 candy bars by 7:45 so I turned out the lights - I love to have the little children in the neighborhood come by - they were all dressed up so cute and they were so polite.

I am going to go out and rake leaves and leave the doors open so I can hear the phone. I'll get my letters all ready but I won't send them until just before the mailman comes so if there is any news from Little Rock I'll have the opportunity to include it in my letter.

P.S. To LETTER OF NOVEMBER 2, 1993

I am a nervous wreck waiting for Roy to call. It is 1:30 our time so it is 2:30 Arkansas time and I'll bet their baby is here. Ron came over about noon to see if he could get that metal pole out of the ground and I know it will be of no surprise to all of you to learn that he got it out!!! I am SO relieved.

He turned the valve back on (they tried that on Sunday night too) and was able to get the pole out with a lot of twisting and pulling. He saw some rough edges on the end of the pole so he filed it all smooth and that was the problem because when he finally got it all smooth and tried it again it came out okay. He checked all the water outlets and I had forgotten to turn one by the patio on to drain so I would have had real problems next Spring. I JUST DON'T KNOW TO DO THINGS LIKE THAT!!!

I told Ron I was going to add a P.S. to my letter to tell you all that he had had success with his "project" and he said to say that it was a combination of three things:
Mechanical expertise
Supreme Intelligence
Dumb Luck
And he emphasized that if each one of these things had points to it the first two would be zero and the last one would be ten-Ha!!!

I appreciate him helping me SO much!!! It is SO interesting to watch Ron work - he loves projects and the more challenging, the better he likes them.

I have had two calls on my machine during the past couple hours and the person calling has just hung up - I'm wondering if you have tried to call me Roy when I was outside and couldn't here the phone. I'm going to leave this letter in the computer so I can add to it when I hear from you.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ROY MELLORS!!!

Roy just called me and it's 2:45 - their little baby boy was born at 1:15 Little Rock time. He weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and Patrice is dong fine and I can just imagine how thrilled everyone is!!! I could hardly keep from crying when Roy told me they are going to name him Jesse Lynn Mellor II and call him Jesse. I couldn't be happier and I'm SO proud of both Roy & Patrice. It will seem even more like Daddy is still with us as I address my letters and we watch little Jesse grow up. Life is full of little miracles that tie us together as a family and this is one of them.
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