Dear Family,
April was filled with happy occasions. Conference was a great refresher that came in the nick of time to save me from feeling overwhelmed, Easter brought needed nourishment to my faith in Christ’s role as Savior (let go, Chris, He is the Savior; you are not), Erika’s graduation from BYU provided an important opportunity to celebrate a great accomplishment, I saw first-hand the growth and progress of Stewart and Ruth, and I was buoyed by being with several of my siblings. And for dessert, I got a beautiful, humongous deck put on the back of my house.
It was so much fun to be with Erika for a couple of days and to watch her walk across the Marriott Center’s stage. My heart was full (and still is) as I thought of her sustained efforts to complete her degree. I am so proud of her! What a blessing to share that happy day with Ruth (our sister) and her daughter, Jean. Thank you for your support! Ruth’s daughter-in-law, Rachelle, also graduated in April and Ruth attended both ceremonies Erika’s first “real” job is happily in her major of Family Science. I am not exactly sure of her title, but she and another woman are in charge of a houseful of teenage girls in a residential school for troubled teens. Erika gave Scott and me a tour of the school and I was very impressed by how positive the environment is. Erika is very good at her job and beat out several other applicants when she applied. It was great to celebrate with Scott, Stewart, and Ruth. Erika was so kind to give me another haircut. I don’t care that I only get a haircut twice a year! She cuts my hair just the way I like it!
I was lucky enough to be in town when Brittany married her Jared. I got to watch Erika fix Brittany’s hair early on the wedding day and we were able to pop in to the open house later in the evening. The refreshments were top-notch (Carole doesn’t operate any other way) and her dress was beautiful. A long life and much happiness, Britt and Jared! It was an extra blessing to see so many that I haven’t seen in so long. I saw Beki and J.C., Tonya and Landon, April, and Alex.
David and Megumi were so kind to let Scott, Erika, Ruthie (and dog, Shadow), and me stay at their house while we were in Utah. You are so generous with everything you have. We enjoyed getting a bit of loving in with Megumi, Lillian, T.J., Marianne, and Hannah. They are a working house, I tell you. Those kids get up and practice, not one, but two instruments before school. They are amazing. And I didn’t hear a bit of crying about it, either! How do you do it, Megumi? We really enjoyed being around some kids again. You do kinda miss it, you know?
Stacy’s boyfriend, Dillon, watched his first General Conference at our house. He joined the church last July and didn’t realize Conference was a two-day-long affair! He is nothing if not obedient, so he spent Saturday and Sunday with us and watched all the sessions. It was fun to send him off to Priesthood meeting with Scott and Sterling for the best session of all, Priesthood. Dillon is a kind, clean, hard-working 19 year old Southern gentleman who met Stacy on a temple baptism trip last September. They are very good for each other. Her good habits of attending all (or at least, most) activities and meetings in the church has strengthened him, and his inner purity, willingness to obey, and gentle manner have helped her develop as well. This past year he has received his Patriarchal blessing and the Melchizedek priesthood and is preparing to turn in his mission papers in September. Stacy and Dillon usually spend Sunday evening with our family in playing games and it has been a joy to get to know him.
Stacy just received notification that she has been accepted to attend BYU-I for the Fall/Winter track. She is planning on going to school this fall. She has been working so long to figure out what her plans are and now they seem to be moving full speed ahead! Good for her! She is a good girl.
It was so good to see and hug my Ruthie, who is working for a chiropractor in Draper and living in Herriman. The place she had been living was sold and the new owners did not want to rent out their basement anymore, so she had to figure out new living arrangements. Ruthie found a new apartment and found four other young women from her ward who wanted to move in with her. Good for her! She has a darling dog named Shadow who is a great companion for Ruth. I am truly proud of Ruthie’s progress. She is active in her ward, is living on what she makes, and is moving forward.
Stewart has the most exciting news. He met an incredible young woman named, Cassandra Louse Woodall from the Sacramento, California area. Stewart had performed in one of his Divine Comedy shows that Cassandra attended. She thought he was cute and went forward to meet him, but chickened out. Stewart saw her coming toward him and was disappointed when she turned around. He said, “Dang! I thought I had my first fan. Cassandra got his phone number from a friend whose sister is Erika’s roommate and asked Stewart out on a date. They have been pretty inseparable ever since. She throws the hammer and shot-put for BYU’s track team. She is 5’11” and solid as a rock. I asked her if she had done track in high school. She modestly said, “Only in my senior year. I’m just really strong, so I walked on to BYU’s track team.” Only later did I learn that she played softball and basketball for all four years in high school. Oh! She also played on the boys’ football team at linebacker position! What?! I guess she is pretty strong. I said, “You probably have had an athletic scholarship.” She replied, “Well, I already have an academic scholarship, and they won’t let you have both.” Clearly. Who needs an athletic scholarship anyway? After three years at BYU, Cassandra went on a mission to Brazil. I asked her when she trained. She said, “Four hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Two hours Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.” This summer she is going to school full-time so she can graduate next spring. She is also working full-time and doing an internship this summer. She told us all of this while we ate dinner together with Aunt Ruth, Jeaner, Stewart, and Ruthie. Cassandra told us she has a double major of English and Portuguese and was minoring in ________. Neither Ruthie nor I understood what she said she was majoring in. I thought she had said, Etiquette (which didn’t make sense), but what Ruthie said was priceless. She leaned forward and said incredulously, “You are majoring in Everything? After all she had told us, it seemed possible. Forget about Stewart, I want to marry her! Stewart is finding out just how motivating a woman can be. My advice to Cassandra is, “Don’t squander this power by marrying him too quickly! Raise the bar and watch for progress! He can do this! This is the first girlfriend/boyfriend relationship for either of them and they are enjoying getting to know each other.
Ruth (not  Ruthie) left Utah and flew to Georgia on her way home to Connecticut. She beat me home by several hours and gave my girls a thrill by taking them to the “Mr.Peabody and Sherman” movie.  I got to have Ruth here with me for an entire week! She helped me paint my kitchen chairs, introduced me to the addictive “Call the Midwives” series, and feed working men. The working men were Bob and Austin. Ruth kindly volunteered Bob to “help” Scott replace our decrepit deck. Scott is willing, but has never built anything like that. Bob was smart enough to call Austin in Omaha for pointers. Austin has built decks for a living and went to work on my deck. He drew up plans, called the city about permits and specifications, wrote me a materials list, and volunteered to come to Georgia and be the boss for the project! Incredible! Austin arrived on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 29th. He had had to stop the night before in Chattanooga because of a massive storm that covered a third of the country. He had been huddled, dozing, at a service station with several others when Ruth and I called him at 11:30 p.m. He wisely sought shelter for the night and got a good night’s sleep. Good thing he did, too, because he was a lot of the muscle for this project, as well as the brains. Tuesday afternoon Ruth and I helped him dig the holes for the footings. Okay, okay; he did most of the hard work. Later that day we picked up Bob from the airport and then things really got hopping. Bob and Austin worked tirelessly through Wednesday and Thursday while Ruth and I shopped tirelessly picking up more wood, different nails, new tools, sharpened saws, and then returning item after item. Bob was so kind to mention how helpful it was to have someone to “go and fetch” instead of having to stop and go themselves for what they needed. Are you kidding? Do you know how helpful it is to have someone with the know-how and muscle to do what needs to be done? Scott is gone every single week Monday through Thursday, so he was only available to help on Friday. Austin had to leave on Friday evening, so it was all-hands-on-deck Friday. Ruth and I were pressed into service to make some railings (I can’t believe I made one all by myself) between Lowes and Home Depot runs. Austin stayed until the very last minute to make sure we had everything ready to finish the project the next day. He was amazing as he made the gate (his inspired idea) and steps. Thank you from the bottom of my old, tired, woman-weak arms, Austin! With Austin gone, it was Bob who became the foreman. He is a perfectionist, thank Heaven, and kept us on task during Saturday. Sterling, Ruth, and I drove in the screws for the planking while Bob placed the last posts and railings. Scott worked on replacing the vinyl siding and killing the roach nursery hiding under the kitchen window. It was Scott’s idea to make a 45 degree angle from one part of the deck to the other. I wasn’t sure it was going to look right and Austin wondered about the potential weakness of that area. The original size of planking wood that I had ordered could not be gotten in time, so Austin redesigned the deck to use smaller planks. In his redesign he reinforced the 45 degree angle section so that it is heavy-duty sturdy. And it turned out beautifully! Scott was right to want that small detail and Austin made it happen. Bless you, Austin and Bob! I will send pictures of it separately. I am so very
There is no way I can adequately express how grateful I am for family. Lucky me! I know I was fortunate to be assigned to this crew of a family! You, each and every one of you, do so much to build and encourage me. I am grateful for the opportunity to write family letters because it helps me remember how very blessed I am! I have the sneaking suspicion that you are each blessed, as well. I am excited to see my siblings, and Ann’s girls, at Ann’s wedding in only a few weeks! Tammy and her lovely family stopped by for a dinner a couple of months ago and we so very much enjoyed it. Please, please, please call or stop by, and all cousins, if you are every in Atlanta. We would love to feed you, give you somewhere to sleep, and love on you. We do love you, each, so very much!
Aunt Chris and Uncle Scott
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