Dearest Family,
HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BARJI ON THURSDAY,
JUNE 30TH. She will be 25 years old and she & Boyd have two beautiful
children - that's what life is all about and I'm SO happy for them. I
hope you have a beautiful day on Thursday Barji!!!
It has been fun to be in touch with Bob &
Claire more this week than usual. Claire has been helping with the
"picture project" and we have exchanged many e-mails and visits - I wish
I could learn the things she knows how to do. John has worked SO
closely with me on that project for the past 3-4 years and I know he is
happy to have Claire interested in it and willing to help. IT GOT
BIGGER THAN LIFE - HA!!!!
I know you have all been interested in the
e-mails from Bob and seeing the pictures he has sent on the internet. I
am still amazed about the surgery Bob did to remove the nail from the
construction man's head - that must have been quite a shock to have his
nail gun go off under his chin. It is a miracle the nail didn't do more
damage and I'm still trying to figure out what stopped it from going
further into his skull. I asked Bob how long the man had to stay in the
hospital and he said "Oh, I just took the nail out and sent him home".
He couldn't put him to sleep because his mouth was nailed shut. It
would take a very skilled surgeon to accomplish what Bob did.
I had read the article in the Church News
about the mudslides in Guatemala and worried they were in the same area
where the medical group goes for the humanitarian help. I will never
understand why such poor people have to suffer SO much. I am SO sorry
for them.
I received an e-mail from Claire this
morning and she said Laura completed a 107 mile bike ride for support
for the multiple sclerosis foundation. Laura was with friends and
employees from her work and she was "dead tired" when she got home. She
is surely in GREAT condition to do that. Bob was also on a bicycle ride
around the Bountiful temple and Mueller Park - I have received police
warnings for going too fast on that hill and it is really a climb so
he's in GREAT condition too.
Brett - you will soon be finished with your
MTC schooling in Brazil and I am thinking you almost have the Portugese
language down well enough to converse with people who are interested in
learning about the church. I'm SO happy you are happy with your
missionary companions - that makes missions so much more fun - you and
the young man from Bountiful will have alot in common. Do you have any
mutual friends? My favorite part of the letters your Mom shares with us
is "Don't do anything fun without me" - Ha!!!
Susanna - thank you for your sweet letter
and the WONDERFUL picture of you & Steve withJackson and Caroline. I'm
glad Ann intervened and wouldn't let you camoflage Jackson's little cut
on his face - you will want to remember that. It's WONDERFUL that Lee
Anna can spend a couple days with you and I know you appreciate having
her with you - it's always such a help to have extra hands to hand your
baby to. I'm glad I don't have to worry that you are in danger with the
wild fires going on in Arizona right now - they sound SO destructive. I
have thought about Steve as I have watched the television coverage of
the "shark attack" in Florida - they keep mentioning Destin so it must
be on the beach around where his family lives. That's very unusual BUT
scary!!!
Annie - thank you for dropping by on
Wednesday and I was SO sad that I missed you. I need to get a better
cell phone number from you - the one I have didn't work. I received
your e-mail saying you might come by after taking Lee Anna to the
airport about fifteen minutes before Ellen Mae & Mel were to come pick
me up to go to Salt Lake and it was just too late to do anything about
it. I am thrilled to get your news that Jessie & Jared may change their
plans and go to the University of Utah for law school. I don't believe
they could pass up the opportunity for Jessie to be able to teach at the
U. of U. - she could probably work on her Ph.D. along with her teaching
couldn't she? That sounds "Picture Perfect" to me.
Jeannie & Rick came over last Sunday and we
had a good visit. - they came right after Bob & Claire left. I have had
problems sending the Weinerts e-mails and I must be using the wrong
address - I need to delete those that don't work. I finally called Rick
and we did some "testing" and it worked just fine.
I haven't heard from John this week - he has
been traveling in California and has been super busy. I guess I need to
make a decision about the attorney and I'm waiting for him to study the
letter we received.
I had to laugh when Bob told me he had
received a message from Roy and it was one word - concerning the "nail
picture". Roy isn't one to communicate often so even one word is a
milestone.
When I was with Ellen Mae & Mel in Salt Lake
on Wednesday we went to visit our friends, Clinton Holmes and his wife
Eris. They are practically homebound and live with their daughter, her
husband and family. I came away from the visit determined to stay
healthy. They have been in ill health for several years. We had
planned to visit Ida Smith but she said she was too ill to have
visitors. Chris Jordin called me one day this week and said that our
friend Barbara Andrews is in really bad shape too. WOW!!!
I received a letter from Wayne & Chris Smith
and I am still in shock. They have moved to Texas and sold their home
in Gulf Shores. I didn't think that would ever happen but they said
that after the bad hurricane last year the shrimping and fishing weren't
very good and real estate prices were "sky high" so they decided to
sell. They have bought a home fairly close to where their two children
live and it is by a lake and in a wooded area. They said they see deer
in their backyard. Wayne told me the last time they were here that they
had been offered over a million dollars for their place so I'm sure they
have made alot of money. Chris said that Wayne gave Linda & Suzie a
blank check and told them to furnish their new home and it is just
gorgeous. I am thrilled for them but it will be a VERY BIG change for
them - especially Wayne!!!
I had a funny phone call yesterday afternoon
from a second cousin who lives in Garland. She was in Lehi and was
trying to find the "homestead" where her grandfather grew up. I tried
to direct her but she kept running into housing developments and I
couldn't tell where she was. They are having a "Rhodes" family reunion
and she wanted to have a picture of the home to share. I have pictures
that Roy took and I'm going to try to find them to send to her. She
invited me to go to their reunion - they expect over 300 to attend. Her
grandfather was my Mother's brother, Uncle Jasper, and he and Aunt Ellen
had 14 children - really a GREAT family!!! We were friends as children
but I haven't see many of them for a long time.
Everyone in Utah is VERY happy about the
safe return of the missing boy scout in the Uintah Mountains. That kept
me glued to the television for days. That was a good lesson for all the
boy scouts. I couldn't help but feel SO sorry for the Bardsley family
whose son was lost last year and has never been found - Kevin Bardsley
was so much help for this family and I'm sure he was heart broken and
happy at the same time. It was very interesting to me that this boy
scout avoided the men looking for him because he had been taught to
avoid strangers and he was also afraid of the horses - that's a lesson.
My new windows are going to be installed in
the morning and I am SO excited!!! It will make a big difference in the
comfort of my upstairs - I THINK!!!!
That's all the news. I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU
SO VERY, VERY MUCH. PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU
DO. Grandma B XXXXXOOOOO