Dearest Family,
I have had such a WONDERFUL afternoon today. I
had just come home from church when John came and we had a good visit - he
has had a new haircut and he looks like a little kid - SO youthful he makes
me very envious - Ha!!! He had just left when Lynnette Bloom Erickson, her
daughter Katie and Jane Irey came. They served with us in Montana and we
were close to them while Daddy was alive and we lived in Orem but then they
went their various ways and so did I so I haven't seen them for a LONG
time. They called me last week and said they would come see me on Sunday
after church if they could work things out but I hadn't heard from them
since so I wasn't sure. David Taylor called me about 1 o'clock and said he
had an e-mail message from Jane saying they were coming so he would like to
come too. SO they all came at that time and they just left - at 4:45 p.m.
It is simply marvelous when I have visitors like that who loved Daddy SO
much and they remember things I have long forgotten.
Lynnette had an unhappy marriage and since she
had a little baby daughter she decided to pursue her doctorate in education
at BYU and now she has a REALLY good job. She lives in Orem and her parents
sold their home in Phoenix and have moved in with her. It was SO
interesting to talk to her about her job - she supervises BYU student
teachers all over the world; Guatemala, China, Fiji, Samoa and she even
goes to "Tarawa" in the Kiribati Islands - she showed us where that is on my
world map. She has some very interesting stories to tell. Annie - she told
me that your friend Beverly Cutler, goes to some of these places and stays
for weeks at a time to help the program and she is 73 years old. I know
these experiences are in store for some members of my family and I am
excited for you. Her daughter is in the 6th grade in the Scera Park School
and she is just darling.
Jane has never married and lives in Tucson where
she teaches physically and mentally handicapped students at a Junior College
there. Her parents moved from their home in Pennsylvania to live with her.
She looks exactly the same as she did when she was on our mission with us.
Jane is "Aunt Jane" to Katie and they spend alot of time together - a nice
relationship for both of them and also Lynnette.
David brought his son, Christopher, with him and
he was SO good. I know our talk must have been very boring but he hardly
wiggled - Ha!!! I remembered that when Lynnete and Jane used to come see us
in Orem that they ate VERY differently and sometimes would just eat raw
carrots so I didn't know what to fix for them to eat. I finally decided to
make some "health" cookies and they turned out quite good - apricots, dates,
raw apples and nuts mixed in with some sugar and flour. I also warmed the
Thai soup I had brought home from dinner with Bob & Claire on Friday night
and they ate that but I believe it was a little too spicy for them. I made
Christopher a root beer float and fruit juices for the others - WE SUCH A
GOOD TIME!!!
MARY ANN - you looked SO beautiful at the temple
yesterday. Mary Ann took out her own endowments at the Bountiful temple and
David was there with her and his parents and Jean, Rick, Ricky and I were
with Mary Ann. IT WAS A VERY SPECIAL DAY!!! That can be a very
overwhelming time for members going the first time but Mary Ann was very
"calm & collected" and I was VERY proud of her.
I had such a fun time on Friday night too. We
celebrated Bob's birthday a month late at our favorite Thai restaurant in
Roy and the food was just delicious. I believe there must be something
addictive in their soups because I just crave them. I brought home a
quart of their "Som Tom" soup with shrimp and I tried to get John to eat it
this afternoon but he wouldn't so I served it to my missionary friends.
ROY AND PATRICE - I received the most fabulous
package from you yesterday. I have a perfect place for the "narcissus"
plant and there is nothing I enjoy more each morning than to check it to
see how much it has grown through the night. I don't need to tell you how
much I love the pecans - cracked pecans from Keithleys in North Little Rock
just taste better than any I can buy here. Most of all I LOVE your
Christmas card picture and I was SO happy to have it to show my friends this
afternoon. You all look SO good and SO happy and of course that makes me
happy!!! I'm going to wear my beautiful Christmas bracelet all year long.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!
Annie - I had a Christmas letter from my good
friends who live just South of the Provo Temple and they said they were so
very sorry you had lost the election. They don't live in your district but
they said you had done such a great job. They are retired educators from
California. Lynnette said today that she thinks the superintendent of
schools resigned because of it. She is trying to hire a couple to work for
BYU and do the things she is doing with the student teachers all over the
world so she won't have to travel. She wants to stay home and be with her
daughter.
Claire - Thank you SO much for the bridal
luncheon pictures - they are SO good!!! You could be a professional
photographer. I hope your ward slide picture show turned out good. Claire
has been taking pictures of every member in their ward and then she prepared
a slide show to be shown at their ward Christmas party yesterday morning.
Two of the sisters with whom I work at the temple are in their ward and they
were sad they were going to have to miss it because of their temple
assignment. They have a "Christmas Breakfast" each year and I believe that
has been contagious throughout the area because our ward is also doing the
same thing next Saturday only they won't have the slide show. I think
having pictures of your ward is such a wonderful thing to do. I have been
looking at some of my albums lately and I came across the album we made of
our ward when we lived in Little Rock and it's so much fun to see pictures
of friends and see how they have changed through the years.
Jeannie - you have some of the nicest friends I
know about. I was invited to a bridal shower for Mary Ann at Ann Norton's
home and it was VERY, VERY nice. There are two young women who are getting
married in December so they had a "combined shower" for both of them. Mary
Ann looked so "CHIC" and everyone in their neighborhood and in their ward
loves her and the entire Weinert family.
The shower that was planned for Linda Smithers
last week was cancelled because most of the people who were invited couldn't
come at the last minute. I plan to go to their wedding on Thursday night -
it is going to be at Deniece's home in Bountiful and I hope I can find it.
Her fiance' has been diagnosed with cancer of the bone marrow and will start
radiation treatments right after they return from their honeymoon. She is
biting off more than I could chew!!!
I went to the Festival of Trees in Salt Lake on
Tuesday and it was fabulous. I know there must have been at least five
hundred decorated trees. Margaret bid on two of them plus a beautiful
wreath. She was worried she would get all of them but all she got was the
wreath. She dares to do things I would never dare do. I bought some hand
made red felt stockings filled with candy for my D.U.P. members. All the
profits go to the Primary Children's Hospital and they make ALOT.
I went to the temple party for my shift last
night and I still can't believe the wonderful entertainment. One of the men
who works on my shift is a "LITTLE DIFFERENT" and I have felt kinda' sorry
for him - NOT ANYMORE!!! He has a simply gorgeous voice and his wife plays
the piano for the group that entertained and I have never heard better
music. The Tongans were in charge of the food and that could have been
better but the music made up for it. There isn't anything better than
Christmas music and when it is well done it is almost perfect.
I wish you could all see my condo lights. I am
really "lit up"!!! The young man who helps manage the condos put lights up
on my roof and he connected them with Margarets so I can't turn them on but
she is home most of the time. I have the others connected to the lights
that go on automatically and stay on all night - I will have a big electric
bill but it's worth it. This is the first time I have done them this way.
Russell - knowing you I am betting you will have
a Christmas tree of sorts!!! I hope you will be able to find some kind of
decorations or maybe you will string some popcorn. MAKE IT FUN FOR ALL THE
MISSIONARIES IN YOUR DISTRICT.
I hope SO much that each one of you can enjoy
the next few weeks before Christmas with the real spirit of Christmas and
not be too stressed. LISTEN TO THE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC!!!
I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH.
PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Grandma B
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