December 26, 1994 Orem, Utah

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

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRETT TODAY AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LEEANNA ON THURSDAY!!! I hope you will both have wonderful birthdays - I am experienced in this sort of thing and know that your birthdays are quite anti-climatic after Christmas but still lots of fun.

What a marvelous Christmas time we have had. Someone at church yesterday asked me if I were having a good Christmas and I said I was having so much fun I was worn out - THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

We all met at the Woolleys on Saturday, the 24th, and started eating and I haven't stopped!!! Everyone brought such good appetizers to snack on and then Ann had a very gourmet dinner in the evening. I hope my pictures turn out that I took of the children in their bathing suits throwing snowballs at each other and jumping on the trampoline and then getting into the hot tub. I have never seen anything like that in my entire life - it was freezing cold outside and they were running around in their bathing suits playing in the snow.

The children made a video of the "Christmas Story" and I loved the entire thing but what impressed me the most was the serious and thoughtful expressions on their faces as they read the passages form the Bible. I think Katie deserves an academy award for her part as the donkey for Mary to ride on. I hope I will get to see it again because it truly was well done. Jessie, were you playing the part of Cecil B. DeMille as the producer - there were no credits given so I don't know who was responsible for what but it was VERY WELL DONE.

The children put on our annual talent show and it also was wonderful BUT I object to some of the children choosing not to perform - I don't believe that should be an option. I wanted to call Michael yesterday morning as I was watching the Disney Christmas Parade on television - there were quite a few tuba players in the marching band. Michael played "Jolly old St. Nicholas" on his tuba and Jimmy, Sarah, Ricky, Russell, LeeAnna (others I can't remember) sang along. I LOVED IT. It is a thrill for me to see the improvement the children are making in their talents and I just hope they won't stop practicing because it is SO important in their lives to have a talent of some kind.

We sang Christmas carols and while we were doing that Santa Clause came by in his plane and dropped candy on the patio. That is a special time for the children and of course the adults too. It was fun to have Grandpa Russ. Grandma Bev and Mimi with us too. They came on Saturday about noon and since it was Mimi's birthday on Christmas it was very special.

We all had church services to attend yesterday and I thought that was SO natural - we don't have them unless Christmas falls on a Sunday and I thought it made Christmas what it really should be. I remember in Little Rock how Roy used to attend the church services that were held at his friends' churches on Christmas Eve and he really enjoyed them. Roy and Patrice, were there services at your church on Christmas Eve this year?

THANK YOU JOHN AND JULIANNA!!! They came yesterday to help me with my preparations for dinner. I didn't realize until they came how desperately I needed them and they worked and worked and then cleaned everything up and I appreciate it so very much. The Woolleys and Weinerts came about 4 0' clock and we had dinner and then visited. I remembered that we had talked about making butter mints so we started to do this quite late in the evening. I did something wrong because it took FOREVER for them to get done. The children all gathered around the table in he kitchen to help "pull" them and that was fun. It REALLY wasn't a good batch and I don't know if they ever creamed - WE REALLY NEEDED PAPA!!! Maybe sometime during the Winter if we are ever together again we will try to do it over - I know that John could do it if I made the "stuff" right. I am really surprised at what a good cook John is and his ability to arrange things so they are pretty - he didn't used to be good at this !!!

Roy & Patrice - thank you for calling yesterday. It was SO good to talk to you even though Timothy didn't want to talk to me - that was SO typical of a little boy who had "just had it" and wouldn't do anything he didn't want to do. Emily sounded SO excited and happy - she made me homesick to be with her. I am SO dumb - I should have known you sent the cousins' gifts in the package you sent to me. I can't tell you how busy I have been the past couple weeks - I don't believe I will ever try to do anything crafty for Christmas again. When your package came I just took it in to put under the tree and didn't ever look at it again. I wanted to come home on Saturday to turn my outside lights on anyway so it wasn't any trouble to come get the gifts. I LOVE that part of our Christmas. The children always select just the right gift for each other and it is so much fun to watch them. I hope my pictures turn out and show the excitement. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas too - we all miss you and hope that some time you will plan to be with us at this time of year. I always worry about traveling for you but this year you would have been fine - we have had unseasonably warm weather. I know that Suzie enjoyed being with her grandchildren for Christmas.

I feel SO bad - I am not going to get to see the Beyers while they are here. The one day they could have come was the day I was SO involved in our ward Christmas party. I thought they would come today but when I called this morning they told me that Shauna had been ill - they think and hope it is the flu and they want to help her and do what she wants to do and she wants to go into Salt Lake and see "Little Women". Their grandson's missionary farewell will be Jan. 29th so they will be back!!!
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