Plowing ahead...

What a surprise to have Madeline show up knocking on the door!  She just came home from her Mission and was heading home for the first time in 18 months.  The van was filled with family and they stopped and unloaded some of her luggage from the back and she and her Mom crawled out!  I was just thrilled to see her!  She was a part of my life before she was born as her Mother and I are friends. She has been in the life of our twin granddaughters, Cassie and Tori, for most of their lives as they are only one year younger than her.  The 3 spent many summers playing together.

Remember a couple of days ago when I told you about the invite to the Temple sealing?  Her brother Troy is marrying one of Madeline's Missionary companions.  They were the best of friends!  Talk about romantic!  I'm figuring Madeline is MissMissionaryMatchmaker.  Our own Yenta!

Sweet Madeline!!

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I've been working off and on plowing through my sorting trunk project and I did make some headway and found some items I was happy to see.

Some items I thought were lost and others had been forgotten ...like clippings of my daughter's baby hair!!  What was I thinking??  Everyone needs a bit of angel hair in their possession?  and of course it was balanced out by finding a business card when she was Hostess on Royal Carribean Cruise line!

Tidbit parts of our life history turned up...  A tithing envelope...

Branch President twice and Bishop once.  

 & a thank you note addressed to Kipper's Father.  She didn't know Terry and neither of us recognize the name but Terry evidently changed her tire...a little thank you note!

           How kind of you to change my tire.

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The one thing I was really happy to see was a letter from Lady Bird Johnson.  I had read her book, A White House Diary, and enjoyed it so much.

In fact I enjoyed the book so much that I wrote her a letter and told her so.  I was very interested and impressed with so many things she shared about her life in the White House... and her love of nature and how she wanted to beautify the highways and the parks and the streets and the cities of America and plant flowers of all sorts but most especially wild flowers. She wanted to make all of America the land of the beautiful!  Where flowers bloom so does hope, is how she said it. I still enjoy seeing pictures, especially of Texas, her home State, and how gorgeous those flowers are along the highways.

She wrote about looking forward to someday being home at the LBJ Ranch and creating permanency and creating what she called "forever rooms".  I told her I hoped she'd been able to do that and also hoped she was enjoying her life since leaving the White House.  I expected no response.

I was surprised when I got a note from the LBJ Ranch.  It was fun to find that personally written little letter!  I remember being so taken by the heaviness of the ecru stationary with it's brown ink..impressed that she had penned a note to me in answer to my musing questions of --did she get the forever rooms finished? and--was she enjoying the LBJ Ranch as much as she had hoped she would?

It cost her a 6 cent stamp to mail it to our Runamuck address!

LBJ Ranch at top.  Stonewall, Texas

January 30, 1971
Dear Miss Seljestad:

I've been fortunate in receiving so many wonderful letters since my book was published, but yours was especially dear and I just wanted you to know how much I appreciated those warm words.

With best wishes for happy days ahead.

Sincerely,
Lady Bird Johnson
Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson

Yes, I did get our "forever rooms" finished and have enjoyed so much these different more personal days since leaving the White House!