Dearest Family,
HAPPY WINTER!!!! It is snowing outside and
it is COLD but it is beautiful and I LOVE it!!! I went to Wyoming with
Margaret last week - we left on Tuesday morning and we got settled into
her home in Etna after struggling to get her car over the snow that had
been piled up in front of her gate by the city snowplow and then it
snowed over a foot on Wednesday so we were REALLY snowed in. She had to
get the snowplow to come clear her road so she could get to her hospital
board meeting on Thursday night. We came home on Friday and it seemed
so strange to drive right out of the snow - there wasn't any snow here
in Farmington until today.
Wyoming is beautiful in the Winter if you
like snow and I do, so I had a good time. There were only three of us;
Margaret, Mary Ann Holman from Brigham City and me. It was fun to watch
the snow come down in big flakes and then six deer came around her home
- I don't know what they could find to eat unless it would be tree bark
and pine needles but they looked well fed. Mary Ann and I went to the
Family History Center in Afton while Margaret was at her board meeting
and I am always impressed with the volunteers who are there to help
people even though the roads are icy. Mary Ann is a genealogy
specialist and she helped me find some things on the computer BUT I
still can't find Archibald Forrest. I'll go in to Salt Lake sometime
soon and make a genuine interest in trying to find him on the genealogy
films they have. We had Ward Conference at church today so we had a
member of the Stake Presidency with us and he gave such a good talk
about Family History. My thoughts went immediately to my 80TH BIRTHDAY
PICTURE THAT I DEARLY LOVE and also to all the DVDs that Claire worked
so hard on for months!!! She gave me another DVD and I'm not sure all
of you have it but it was fun to watch the other night and see pictures
of Barji when she was Gracie's age and they are exactly alike - they
even walk alike. I love those DVDs and when you watch them in future
years you will love them too!!! It's good to go to church and have our
leaders instruct us on what we should be doing and then realize that
we're already doing SOME of those things!!!
The man who spoke this morning used families
as his topic so I took notes - Ha!!! I believe he was taking some of
his thoughts from "Tolstoy" -(Sp.?) and those of you who are much more
cultured than I am will probably recognize this. He made this comment:
"Happy Families are ALIKE - with fruits of the spirit in their homes
such as; love, tolerance etc." "Unhappy families are unhappy in
different ways and lack those qualities". Maybe you would have had to
"be there" to understand that but it made alot of sense to me. His talk
was just excellent and he brought out that every family has need to
repent and quoted from Doctrine & Convenants Sec. 93 about Joseph Smith
being commanded to repent. He said we should strive to have "Kingdom
Famlies and not Families of the World".
I knew I wouldn't have very much news for my
letter this week so I thought I would "Give A Sermon"!!! I had a
WONDERFUL time yesterday at the baby shower for Staci and I heard ALOT
of good news but I can't mention it in my weekly report until I get
permission!!! Mary Ann had planned the most fun games for the shower
and she is just the person to organize them and help all of us have fun
playing them. I don't know where she found the time to plan and present
the games because there was ALOT of preparation involved!!! Baby Anna
Jean is SO precious and we all agree - she looks like David!!! That's
good because he is a mighty good looking young man - their next one can
look like Mary Ann. I don't believe I have ever been around a more
pleasant baby - I have yet to hear her cry. Mary Ann brought her over
last Sunday and she didn't cry then either. We all had such a good time
having lunch and playing games together and Staci got some darling gifts
for their baby - Staci looks just WONDERFUL and her baby due date is
March 4th. I want to write the names of those who were there: Staci,
her Mom Maxine, Claire, her Mom Alice, Katie, Jean, Barji, Mary Ann,
Sarah, Ann, Jessie, Lee Anna & me. My family is a VERY HAPPY FAMILY and
I want us to stay that way!!!
I don't know if any of you remember my
Brigham City friends, Verl & LaRaine Petersen. They owned the "Petersen
Mortuary" in Brigham City for over fifty years and have recently moved
into a condominium in Brigham City. LaRaine is not well and has been in
a wheel chair for the last three years and Verl has been her caregiver.
Last Friday morning he got up to help LaRaine in the bathroom and then
she went back to bed and he was going to their family room downstairs to
read the paper and fell down their stairs. She didn't awaken and found
him later that morning - they air-flighted him to Salt Lake to the
hospital but he died. His funeral is in the morning. Ellen Mae & Mel
invited me to go with them tonight for the viewing so I am going instead
of driving by myself to Brigham City in the morning for the funeral.
They have lived in Brigham City all their lives and they are classmates
of mine so there will be a million people at the viewing and also at the
funeral. I am SO sorry for LaRaine - I don't know what she will do
because she surely can't live alone. We are going at 4 o'clock so we'll
be home by 7:30 or earlier - I'm going to call Bob & Jean to let them
know I won't be here earlier - they ALWAYS come over on Sunday nights
and I LOVE THEIR VISITS!!!!
Brett - I know you are doing good and I hope
you are going to be able to re-activate the members in your area who are
not going to church. With all your talents you could organize some
REALLY fun musical projects to include the youth. Are you able to play
any drums you might find? I'm sure the musical instruments there are
MIGHTY different from any you are acquainted with.
I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH.
PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Grandma B
XXXXXOOOOO