Dear Kids,

Happy Easter, everyone.  The Party at Nora’s house yesterday was a blast, and the only hang-up was Dallin getting lost, temporarily.  Thank goodness he was only playing football with another family over in the park.  With his hoodie up, it wasn’t obvious that was him.  Dad located him.  (Dad had on a Centerville Police hoodie Allen gave him for Christmas, and he looked very official, looking for a lost child.) Dallin only felt bad that he missed the Easter egg hunt, but McKay shared his eggs with him, and several other kids did, too.  All’s well that ends well.

McKay’s baptism is next Saturday morning (the 23rd) at 10:30 at Nora’s church.  There will be a lunch afterwards at Nora’s house.  Since we’re having so many events in April, we’ve decided to put off Super Sunday until the end of May.  It’s Allen’s turn next.   It will be interesting to see where he decides we’ll meet.  All you kids have done a super job of hosting.

The first meeting of our new family book club went really well last Sunday.  I think these books can become an important part of our family culture, like Nora bringing black cookie dough to make Jenny Linski cookies, and some red for the cat’s shawl.  Everybody knew what that was all about.  Our next book, suggested by Nora, is Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith.  I read it already, and I really enjoyed it.  It’s short and funny, and I think you’ll all like it.  There are plenty of copies in all the libraries around here.  We’ve sort of decided to hold book club on the second Sunday of each month, so it won’t be too close to Super Sunday on the fourth.  That would make our next meeting on May 8th.  I’m already looking forward to it.

Donna and Bevan have been backpacking around Boston since yesterday morning.  In the afternoon they took a trolley tour which Donna said was really interesting.  On Monday Bevan will be running the marathon, and as soon as he’s done, they’ll jump right on their plane for home.  Their kids are at Nora’s.  (If it sounds like Nora’s been busy lately, she has. And how!)  We’re hoping Bevan gets a good time on the marathon, but the bottom line is, it’s Boston!  What could be cooler?

Enjoy your Easter Sunday, and enjoy what it really means.

Love, Mom

 

Dear Kids,

The first meeting of our family book club will be this afternoon at 5:00 at our house.  We’ve been reading Jenny and the Cat Club by Esther Averill.  You don’t need to have read all of it.  I’ve read it twice, I liked it so much.  The author definitely understood cats.  The idea behind the book club is that we’ll choose books you can read together with your kids, and then we’ll meet once a month or so to talk about them.  I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.  

And next weekend is Easter, so we’ll be meeting at Nora’s on Saturday (the 16th) at 2 pm.  Bring eggs for your kids, and you can call Nora for a food assignment.  It’ll be cool that day, probably about 50 degrees at Nora’s house.  Whatever the weather, whatever the menu, whoever can come–it will be great fun.  

Some of you have asked if there’s going to be an Allen family reunion this summer, so I asked Bonnie, and this was her answer: Laurie Jacobson has graciously offered to host on Saturday, July 9, in their backyard.  They have a large space with a pool, basketball court, patio area and a lot of grass for volleyball, etc.  It will be the usual where everyone brings their own food and drink and we enjoy visiting while the kids play.  I will get back with everyone on details of time (morning) and other details, but put Saturday, July 9, on your calendars.   Please let your children and grandchildren know about this.  

So we have that to look forward to, and our own Ackerson family reunion at Bear Lake the last weekend in July.  So many good things up ahead!

Sharon has had two job offers from hospitals, and she needs to do some shadowing to learn more about both places.  One job is med surg (you know, medical, surgical) and the other is intermediate care.  One starts August 1, and the other on August 26.  Naturally I hope she takes the one that starts later, so she won’t have to leave our family reunion early, but in the long run it won’t matter.  We’re really proud that she’s done so well!

So much is going on!  Dad and I are really lucky to be matriarch and patriarch of such a great family.  Love, Mom

Dear Kids,

Hasn’t Conference been wonderful? I’ve enjoyed all the sessions so far, and I’m looking forward to more today.  BTW, thanks to all of you who came and made our soup dinner a success.  And thanks to Bevan and the guys for taking the little boys to the park so we could watch the women’s session in peace.  It was wonderfully quiet.

Our Easter picnic is coming up a week from Saturday, on April 16, at 2 pm.  Allen says some of his favorite childhood memories were the Easter egg hunts we had with Grandma Allen.  I sure have great memories of those days!  And now we can be grateful to Nora for hosting so many Easter shindigs at her park.  (Yeah, we know she doesn’t own it, but she might as well.)  We hope to see you all there!  Bring enough Easter eggs for your family, and we’ll put them all together, like we’ve done before.  Bring your baskets, too.  For food assignments, call Nora.

Right now Nora’s family is off on their revenge cruise.  Dad looked them up yesterday afternoon on his phone, and they were on the dock in Long Beach, California.  So obviously they’re on the water, now.

Nora has had a great idea for a family book club.  The idea is that we choose good books you can read together with your kids, and we’ll get together for our “club” once a month, on a Sunday night while people are here at our house anyway.   Our first club will be held a week from today at 5 pm and the book is Jenny and the Cat Club by Esther Averill.  (She also wrote The Fire Cat, and he shows up in this book, too.) I know this is short notice, but once we get rolling we’ll let you know in plenty of time.  So far, Nora’s and Donna’s families are on board.  Join us if you like!

Allen called me from Zions, where he had gone for a law enforcement conference.  He got there a couple of days early and had already hiked the 38-mile traverse.  I was so jealous!  Oh, well, my life is full of fun–just not that kind.  My chemo this last week wiped me out quite a bit, but as long as it’s attacking my cancer  can’t complain. 

I called Jana McGettigan to catch up on her life, and she had a really serious case of covid.  She was in the hospital three days, and has had a hard recovery.  Glenn has retired from Ensign College and I hope they’ll be able to have a lot of fun adventures together.  Kara is a “vet,” having put in time in the army.  Remember how we used to tend her on Sunday afternoons when she was a tiny baby?  That’s enough to make us all feel old. 

  Oops, my letter’s too long.  If you made it this far, thanks for your patience.  I love you all!

Mom

 Dear Kids,

Conference weekend is next Saturday and Sunday, and we’ll be having our bread and soup party here at 5 pm Saturday.  Then we’ll be watching the women’s session.  I’m ready for a new set of talks!  If you read one a day, starting right after conference when they first come out, you can get through all the talks nearly five times before the next group comes out.  But even on the fifth reading you notice new things.   It’s incredible.

Nora’s family won’t be joining us.  They’ll be off on a cruise:  a revenge cruise, Nora is calling it.  They planned it for more than a year ago, but it was cancelled because of covid, so they’re finally doing it now.  Their ship will be making three stops in Mexico.  I’m sure they’ll have a great time.  They’ll be back in plenty of time for Easter Saturday, which is good, because the party is at their house.  That will be on April 16, probably around 2 pm.  You can call Nora when it gets closer to see what you can bring.  The Easter egg hunt will be in the park across the street from their house, like we’ve done before.

Sharon has had a couple of interviews for jobs, and I’m pretty sure she’ll be able to pick and choose what she likes best.  Right now she’s doing a public health practicum at an adult day care center, where troublesome seniors get dropped off during the daytime, so their caregivers can have a break.  She’s very comfortable with helping out there, but the other three girls who are doing it are having a hard time.  They’re 20-somethings and can’t bear to be around old people.  Sharon said she’s glad she had plenty of exposure to care centers while she was growing up, and doesn’t freak out like those younger girls.  She said she’s glad she isn’t 20 anymore.

The temperature got up to 67 yesterday, and I used my new whirleybird spreader to put fertilizer on our grass.  I was pretty tired after walking all that distance, but exhilarated that I could do it.  We’re certainly into spring now.  Never mind that more snow is coming. 

More chemo for me tomorrow!  My breathing has been really good, after just 2 infusions so far, and I thank you all for your prayers for me.

Love, Mom 

 Dear Kids,

Two weeks until conference.  The bread and soup party will be here at our house at 5pm Saturday night, April 2.  Bring bread or soup or both, whatever you like, and I’ll supply the ice cream and toppings for afterwards.  I’m sure conference will be great, and whoever wants to watch the women’s session with us is welcome to join us.  Oh, yes, and don’t forget that the Easter Picnic will be Saturday, April 16 at 2 pm at Nora’s house.  I’m sure it will be wild and crazy.

I know spring is coming because our Christmas poinsettia is finally dying.  I’ve given it plenty of water and sunlight, but it must be the time of year, because it’s leaves are starting to curl up.  Onward and Upward!  We’re supposed to have a little snow today, but later this week  the temperatures will be in the 50's.  Our old snow has mostly melted, and Sonia was eating grass the other day.  At the cabin there’s still snow, but it’s hard and glossy.  Donna had a sledding party with her friends and their kids, but the kids were mostly just throwing themselves on the ground and sliding. 

Yesterday we went to the viewing for the husband of one of my piano students, Joan Kohler.  Her husband Ken was in his nineties and ready to go.  Joan said she played hymns on the piano while she was waiting for him to die.  That makes three of my students who have lost their husbands in the last couple of years.   I hope the jinx doesn’t keep on going, or they’ll all be widows.

I’ve gotten obsessed with the Fire Cat books.  The book you all read when you were little was only one in a series, but the rest were out of print.  Now they’re back, and I’ve been madly buying them up.  The fire cat shows up in nearly all of them, and the pictures are to die for.   Some of them are on our coffee table, and some are on my shelves, but they’re all here for you to read if you want to.  If I’m young enough to enjoy them, who isn’t?

June 2 is coming up fast.  I hope it’s on your calendars for Bam Bam barbeque and lots of fun at Francis Park.  I’m thinking probably 6 pm, but we’ll be more sure on the time when it gets sooner.  

Lots of love, Mom  

 Dear Kids,

Conference is coming up.  Saturday night, April 2, we’ll have our traditional bread and soup dinner here at our house, and then the women can watch the women’s session of conference.  Heather pointed out that everybody could benefit from it, so of course we won’t shut out any of the guys.  Or little boys.  Anyway, that event is coming up fast.

And then Easter is coming up quickly, too.  It’s in five weeks.  Nora has volunteered to have the Easter picnic at her house, and at the park across the street.  It’s such a great place to have the Easter egg hunt.  Oh, yes, that will be on Saturday, April 16, probably around 2 or 3 in the afternoon.  Donna and Bevan will be in Boston, for the marathon, and their kids will be at Nora’s house, so the center of gravity will already be there.  We ought to have plenty of excitement.

Miscellaneous news:  Sharon finished her practicum, which was twelve night shifts at a hospital (I forget which one.)  She’s very relieved to have that over with, especially since she had to juggle it with her school work.  Now she’s applying for jobs.  She’s sending her applications to three smaller hospitals that are fairly close to her house, and my guess is that she’ll get offers from all three.  More news:  Stuart is into wrestling, and he had his first pin.  Nora said his opponent was a small stocky guy who weighed about the same, but Stuart’s “spaghetti” arms and legs wrapped right around him and pinned him.  Way to go, Stu!  Still more news:  Del has officially and legally changed her name from Ellie to Delta Ann Ackerson.  I asked Allen if that costs a lot, and he said Yep.  She wanted to get it done before her 18th birthday, and Al paid for it as a birthday present.  She’s gone by Del for at least three years now, so I guess she knows her own mind.  I still remember when we changed Al’s name from Allan to Allen.  My Grandpa Allen, the cop, had some influence in that.

It’s still cold here.  Nighttime temperatures have been down in the single digits, down to 2 degrees one of the nights last week.  But we’re supposed to have snow this afternoon, and then things will warm up.  Into the 30's.  We’re starved for spring, but it will be a while yet.  Scout tries every chance to get in, but we pet him and then toss him back out.  Sonia says she’ll sleep on Dad’s chair all day every day until she sees green grass outside.  She misses the grasshoppers and bugs she loves to hunt. 

I start more chemo tomorrow.  It’s all good.

Love, Mom 

 Dear Kids, 

Thanks to Tom and Kim for such a great Super Sunday last week.  Nothing beats Tom’s smoked pork, pulled by his own hands.  Nothing beats the great food the rest of you bring!  I’m always amazed.

Conference is coming up, and I think we should have our regular bread and soup dinner on the Saturday night before.  That would be April 2, I think.  We’ll meet here at our house, and I’ll have more details when it gets closer.  There will be a women’s session broadcast, and I don’t know if we ladies can go to our stake center to watch it, or if we’ll just watch it here, probably in our basement.  The men can babysit.  Sounds good to me.

And because of conference, I think we should do away with Super Sunday in March, and pick it up again the end of April.  It will be Allen’s turn.  

I wore my chemo pump from Monday to Wednesday, and it all went very well.  They gave me the Avastin, which slows down your blood flow, which should kill off the little blood vessels going to my tumors.  Evidently it helped, because I’m already breathing a lot better, after just one infusion.  And I’m having three more, so I’m very optimistic.  Thanks for all your prayers for me!  Oh, yeah, and I was a lot less tired after the chemo than I usually am.

Sorry for the short letter.  Absolutely nothing happened this week.  Our cats didn’t even do anything crazy.

Lots of love, Mom