December 4, 1995 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:

We just finished our Presidency meeting and it's one o'clock and we started at 10. We had the Christmas party committee come meet with us so we got a lot done. Our Relief Society Christmas party is a dinner to which we invite all the Mutual age Young Women and we plan to serve 130. We are going to do it the easy way - we are buying the lasagna from Stouffers and the salad and bread sticks from the Olive Garden restaurant. There are so many sisters on our committee who work and they would prefer to donate money than make something so we are able to do it this way. The only thing we will have to make is the dessert - applesauce cake with lemon sauce and cool whip on top.

The lady on our committee who is in charge of decorations does this professionally. It was fun to talk to her - she decorates homes for people in Slat Lake and she starts in October and still has 14 more to do. She decorated the John Huntsman home and also the homes of their sons - she said they are VERY nice people. She also decorates Ida Smith's home when she is in town for the holidays - this year she will be in Palm Springs. It was interesting to talk to her - she said Ida has had them decorate Dee's grave in Salt Lake since he died. They have always had very elaborate decorations - one year they had a tree on the grave. Ida said that people have found out where he is buried and they can't decorate like that anymore because people go and steal the decorations. That was interesting to me because I went to decorate Daddy's grave yesterday and I had bought a plastic poinsettia wreath for $5. I also put a plastic bow on his headstone but that was all. At least I won't have to worry about anyone stealing the decorations.

Jeannie - thank you for your phone call. I'm afraid we talked too long but I appreciate SO much getting the recipes from you. I got the fruit salad recipe she brought for the Thanksgiving dinner and also a vegetable dressing that sounds wonderful. I think it's great the way you always donate so much time to the "Festival of Trees" - Jeannie & Rick and Barji and her "friend boy" and their other children "manned" the scone booth one of the nights. A tree was decorated and donated in honor of the son of their good friends who was killed on his mission in Brazil - Ben Snow. Jean said it was auctioned off for $4,000.00 and it was just beautiful. All the money for the sale of things goes directly to the Primary Children's Hospital. There was a hand made train set that sold for $30,000.00. our ward Relief Society made a beautiful quilt - I'm sure it would sell for at least $100 and it would be just one of many that would be donated. Ellen Mae told me that some friends of her granddaughter who was killed made and donated a beautiful wreath.

I has such a fun time last Thursday evening. Susanna called and invited me to go to their high school for an exhibition program put on by the cheerleaders and the dance team. I was impressed with how good they are - it is scary to watch them as the girls are thrown high up in the air and then caught. It was special because both Jessie and Susanna are on the squads. They used that evenings as a practice session in front of parents and friends before they were to compete against other cheerleading teams in Salt Lake on Saturday. Ann called me Saturday night to tell me the Varsity squad won first place and Jessie's squad came in second. This means that Susanna will go to finals in California in March. I am proud of them. Jessie's squad qualified to go too but if I understand it right they will probably wait until next year. I was in the Mall on Thursday afternoon and ran into Susanna and her friends - a darling group of young women.

I had my Relief Society Board Christmas Social last Wednesday. We little scrolls of Christmas stories wrapped pretty with a candy cane to give them and then we served REALLY good refreshments - chicken salad in cream puffs, tomato and cucumber sandwiches, lemon ice box cake and chocolate cookies and lemon sherbet frappe.

John asked me to type up some of my letters from 1979-80 that had been hand written (Ann had saved them). I just loved typing them and being reminded of the things that were going on in our lives at that time - really impressed upon me the importance of journal keeping. I could remember exactly how I felt at the time those things were written and some of the things I would have liked to do over but I guess that's a fact of life. We left John WAY too much - I should have been in Utah helping Ann & Jean with their little babies - and-Bob & Roy struggled through school without a lot of sympathy or help. I'm SO grateful you all turned out in spite of me. One of the things that interested me that doesn't interest any of you is the food that was served for certain occasions - that still interests me!!!

It was fun to have Julianna come over for a few minutes. She and John are going to the Bahamas for Christmas. I was feeling sorry that John wasn't golfing the day she came over because it was an absolutely gorgeous day and we're bound to have snow soon - she said, "Don't feel sorry for him. He will be able to golf when we got to the Bahamas for Christmas". Julianna is off from school for a few weeks and plans to go to El Paso to see her grandparents whom she hasn't seen for a long time and they are very elderly.

Carol just stopped by to get the "Christmas Carousel" she had asked me to get for her at WalMart. She has been with her daughter Carol Ann for two months in California. She looks good and will spend Christmas in Jackson Hole, Wyo. with her son John and his wife, Rosie. Her granddaughter, Memory, was with her she has a new little baby - they have 9 children (4 were his).
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