Dearest Family,
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!!!! I hope
2006 brings you continued good health, lots of success at home and at
work and I want us to be better people (especially me) in our
associations with our neighbors, etc., etc. The year of 2005 was SO
good for us and I am SO sorry for those in the world who suffered with
floods and other natural disasters.
I have had a WONDERFUL holiday season - it
just couldn't have been better. Sarah and Danny Flint's wedding on
Wednesday, December 28th was the climax of all that was planned for them
and I don't believe they could have asked for a more "picture perfect"
day in every way. Those who wanted to go to their wedding ceremony in
the Bountiful temple all met there at 11 a.m. WHAT A TREAT it was for
me to see so many of my children in the temple: Ann, Ron, Russell,
Jimmy, Lee Anna, Chris, Rick, Jean, Ricky, Barji, Boyd, Mary Ann, David,
(Sarah & Danny of course), Bob, Claire, Michael and Staci. The ceremony
was performed by Boyd Mortensen, a sealer and friend of Jeannies and he
did an outstanding job. Rain was forecast and we all expected it to be
a stormy day but the heavens opened during the picture taking and it was
simply BEAUTIFUL!!! I'm sure they have some excellent pictures because
they had two photographers and they tried their very best to get people
in the right place at the right time including Danny's little neices.
We all went to the "Eaglewood Country Club"
in North Salt Lake after the temple wedding for a luncheon hosted by
Danny's parents, Margo and Steve Flint. That is a very beautiful place
and the food was delicious AND we were all starving. John and Katie
from our family joined us for lunch and that was special. I really
enjoyed the program at the luncheon - Mary Ann played a violin solo with
Jeannie accompanying her and Danny's father and sister Megan sang a
duet. They both have beautiful voices. The parents spoke and also
Sarah & Danny and they gave such good talks.
Then we all went to the Oakridge Country
Club for the reception - actually we had about two hours before it
started. They took LOTS of family pictures before the reception -
sometimes that doesn't happen because of the delay in getting everyone
there. Jeannie told John to be sure to be there by 6 p.m. and he was a
little late but that was okay because he brought a lovely friend -
Minnie LaRue Thomas. I loved her and her name right from the beginning
- AND she is from North Carolina. Sometimes I think I have lived
everyplace in the world because of so many people I meet who have
"connections" to those places. They expected about 300 people to come
for the reception and Jeannie said they had over 500 - the line kept
getting longer and longer. I was happy they could keep replenishing the
food which was delicious. I thought Oakridge did a GREAT job and it was
SO nice having it close to us - the Woolleys and John had long trips
though.
Sarah, Danny, Jeannie, Rick, Margo and Steve
surely "held up" well and were very gracious!!! I was happy they had a
"line" - some of the receptions I have been to they have not had one and
people just mingle around trying to find the newly married couple.
Jeannie & Ricks' neighbor, Rachel did the flowers and I have never seen
more beautiful arrangements, bridal and bridesmaids bouquets, corsages,
boutonnieres etc., etc. When I was young we always had gardenia
corsages so the one they gave me really brought back many memories.
Rachel had made "balls" of hot pink carnations and she arranged three of
them in different sizes in boxes on the tables. The topiary on the
serving table was just gorgeous - hot pink and lilac flowers. Friends
lined up at the exit of the country club to "blow bubbles" on Sarah &
Danny as they left. They left to go to Island Park where they were
going to have a "snowmobile honeymoon". I
believe they both start back to school tomorrow - they have a nice
apartment in Bountiful to live in.
WE MISSED SUSANNA, STEVE, JACKSON, CAROLINE,
BRETT, ROY, PATRICE, EMILY, TIMOTHY & JESSE. I'm SO happy to have a
"family picture" taken by Claire at our Christmas Eve party - Susanna,
Steve, Jackson, Caroline & Brett are not in the picture SO we will have
to have another one taken when they're all with us. I mailed 85 New
Years Letters this morning with the family picture in them - that has
been unusually hard for me for some reason. I just couldn't "get with
it" to write a decent letter but I sent it anyway - I don't believe
people read the letters anyway.
I have received three telephone calls from
my Thailand friends; Somjit, Wantana and Supon. It has been SO
wonderful to talk to them and they really speak pretty good English - I
don't believe they understand very much of what I say but I understand
them. I hope Lamchuan comes to see me this April - she didn't come
last year for the first time but I believe it was because her Father was
ill in Los Angeles. I will have her cook for you if she comes. I also
received a nice Christmas letter from a friend who was with us on our
China tour trip last year.
I have missed "The Roys" since they left
last Sunday. I know they are happy to be back home and the children
will all start school tomorrow, Patrice will go back to the library to
work and Roy to his work at the hospital. Jesse - thank you for the
"Spiritual Bath Salts. He made them and the ingredients are: epsom
salts, baking soda, sea salt, sandalwood, Myrrh, Rosemary, Frankincense
& Cinnamon. I love them. Did they tell you they have chickens in their
back yard? Patrice says they have "very expensive eggs" - Ha!!! They
have a perfect backyard for chickens - unless they get roosters. Roy
remembers the chickens all of you got for Easter one year and some of
them turned out to be roosters so we had to give them to the zoo.
Brett - you sound SO busy and SO happy. I
don't believe you even missed Christmas or your Birthday and that's
good. I like your plan to have visual teaching tools for your
missionary work - I am a visual learner so it is VITAL for me to learn
that way. I still like the "flip charts" and I have wondered why they
discontinued the use of them. Your Dad is a fabulous teacher and I know
he will have good ideas. Your Dad will look like a "teenager" when you
see him again - his crooked teeth will be no more!!!
I hope the Reeves' family had a good time in
Florida. I know Steve's parents enjoyed their visit and Jackson &
Caroline would have cousins to play with so they have had LOTS of
fun!!! We have had LOTS of rain and last night we even had a thunder
storm so Arizona sounds good to me!!!
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