20	Spring	02
Linda White Box 311 Cheyenne, OK 73628	Monta's Family | Garland's Family | Virginia's Family Ed's Family | Dale's Family | Richard's Family Elmeda's Family | Bill & Mary	Joe Elder 813 SW 63 Oklahoma City, OK 73139
Volume 11	of the family, by the family, for the family	Issue 4

The cost is $2.00 per year (mailed). If you have an e-mail address, Joe can send you a newsletter via e-mail for free. So send him your e-mail address and save money. The news needs to come to Joe or me, Linda White. If you have any suggestions let us know. We will publish the newsletter four times a year. The deadline for your news to reach either Joe or me will be the 1st day of each new season i.e. June 21, September 22, December 21, March 21. The newsletter should be out a week later, give or take a day or so. We won’t send out reminders, so be sure to mark your calendars now. If we don’t have to send out reminders, we can keep the prices lower. Linda White Editor Monta's Family Editor's note. No news from Monta, I did see her at Kate's wedding, and mom went home with her and spent a week. Editor. Garland's Family Editor's note. No news, I did see Carol at Kate's wedding, and heard that Garland saw mom in Amarillo while she was with Monta. Editor. Virginia's Family News from Idaho All of us are ok here. T.J. continues to do fairly well. Both of us are getting a little tired of winter. I've been busy this winter with sewing and machine knitting, both being good winter time projects. Barbara and Dennis have spent the last few months settling Dennis's mothers final bills, doing a lot of repairs on her house and selling the property. They are about ready for a vacation. Roger was here for a few days recently and we had a very good visit. He feels more optimistic now about the airline industry and his company ahs returned most of the involuntary laid off people back to work. Shannon, Kenneth, little T.J. and Jordyn are fine. Shannon and Kenneth both busy with jobs, family and home. T.J. loves pre-school, 3 days a week for 2 hours. He is a very smart, wonderful young boy. Jordyn is 10 months old, growing and developing fast and is a beautiful little girl. The great grands sure brighten our lives a lot. I talked to Monta recently and learned that she, Elmeda, Pete and Joann, Dale and Frances (and maybe some others) are planning on coming to visit us in June. In fact, they have quite a trip planned. Also some of T.J.'s relatives are planning a trip to the North east this summer and will visit us, too. We will have a busy and enjoyable summer. We are looking forward, as always, to hearing from everybody via Watts News. Love to all. Virginia Patterson Ed's Family Hello everyone, Hope everyone is doing well. To my knowledge every one in our part of the family is okay. Think everyone has had their share of colds, allergies, flu, etc. This winter we getting some much needed moisture so maybe that will help settle the dust a little. We've had a busy winter. Family Christmas was here in Cheyenne with all here except Amy, Montie, Randy and Courtney, Heather (who was sick), Herb (Stephs husband who had to work) and our daughter and son-in-law from Fl. (Curt's dau. Donna and husband Lewis, He's in the air force.) . We really had a good time. We had breakfast at our house that morning with gift exchange with our kids and grand kids. Ben surprised everyone, including Janna with an engagement ring. That was a prayer answered. Elmeda, Lloyd and Jessie joined us for our family Xmas. January brought a wedding date set and Janna graduated from her paralegal course and Tess had to have an 8 hour psychological test. That made for a busy time for us. February brought the wedding on the 2nd really pretty, Janna is very talented, she made all the bouquets and corsages as well as the boutonnieres and I renewed our wedding vows on our 25th anniversary. Ben wore Curt's boutonniere also. Genna was her Mom's maid of honor. Now she is officially our grand daughter. Tessa's test revealed better results than we thought. Now she will either get into vocational education or on the job training to retrain her for a different job. She has to decide what job training to do. The two inmates who beat her were sentenced a couple of weeks ago. They got only two years. Needless to say she was very upset not only about that but the D.A.'s office told her the morning of the sentencing that they had changed the date to a week later and it hadn't been changed. She is still in therapy and has bad headaches but other wise pretty good. Nancy and Randal are on vacation this week with Rhett. The guys are going deep sea fishing. Hope Randal doesn't get sick this year. They planned to go to Lubbock to Katie's wedding but just was not possible. We enjoyed a 1st birthday party for Jerry and Teresa's grandson Feb. 17 at their house. Braden sure enjoyed his cake, red and white frosting on the top of his head to his toes and everywhere else. I'm sure there are lots of cute pictures. They were all doing okay. Evan is working and involved in sports so keeps mom and dad busy. We're busy getting ready for Easter at church. We always have a big lunch, Easter egg hunt for the kids and singing in the afternoon. If you aren't busy come join us. We'd love to have you join us. Guess everyone is okay as I've not heard from them. No news is good news. Love to all, God bless Linda REMEMBER THE COUSINS REUNION IN CHILDRESS JUNE 2 IT'S A FUN TIME! Dale's Family Joe, please include Gailia's email in the spring news letter. The last sentence is about Brandt's dad. He was in the hospital when they had to leave for China 5th of January and not expected to pull out of it. It was a sad departure for them. As for us, Frances had knee surgery 2/20 and is doing great ever since. I have been doing house things while she was down. Bruce and Robbie are expecting their first grandchild (Kay's) and are excited about it. Also Bruce and Robbie are moving out of the flood zone, They purchased 2 acres near Montgomery and bought a double wide. It is closer to Bruce's work and Robbie is with a grocery chain and looking for a transfer to a store nearby. The land is heavily wooded so I have been plying my lumber jack skills in helping Bruce clear some of it. I received a short note from Loretta's family, they were at the Olympics in Utah for a couple of days. As far Karen's family, they seem to be fairing well, except Karen's headaches, which she now thinks is caused by stress. She works for a bookkeeping firm and her job is payroll so all of January, she worked 60 to 70 hrs a week to get the w2s ready to send out. Ron works for a contractor laying water and sewer lines in subdivisions. Neil had resigned his teaching job last summer, expecting to go to Indianapolis but staff there didn't offer the job he was promised and it was too late to rehire as teacher, so he works for a contractor remodeling houses. Cheri' is with the hardware store for several years now. OK so the kids might write the next news in self defense. e-mail From: Gailia Smith Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2002 9:48 PM Subject: we are home again Well we are finally home again; I don't think I want to leave again for a long time. It is warmer here so our heaters are unnecessary. That is a praise. Our sinuses have really been acting up. We have been in Northern Thailand, (Chaing mai) Southern Thailand (Pattaya) and Central Thailand (Bangkok), Hong Kong and China (Kunming) since the end of January. Believe me no two beds are alike. We are glad to get in our own beds, even the kids were glad to get home. Brandt and I are trying to lose weight, about 40# for me and 30# for Brandt. We do love to eat, and exercise has been far between. My sewer is not fixed yet. The other day I was cutting up fruit in the Kitchen and I heard this giggling in the sink and from the floor comes all my neighbors sewer. Of course we are on the bottom apartment and we get everything our neighbors don't need. I called the plumbers, this is the third time I have had to call. They said maybe today they can fix it. But dad they go outside and empty lots of pipes but they only do about five or so feet so when that fills up it is back in my floor. I almost want to move. But this is the first time in 8 years that we have moved into a place that Amber has an English friend, so I feel little like we should stick it out, Our electricity is not fixed yet either. Come to find out we only have 40 amps for my house. I try not to use more than necessary electrical things, but sometimes someone in another room turns something on that blacks the entire house. We keep a flashlight handy. Brandt has more trips coming up in April and May. plus things in-between, keep us in your minds. I don't know if we will be in Okla. this summer or not. We have to find the funding to send the entire family which is about $5000 or more. Brandt will go, but by himself for about 2 weeks in Okla. and a week in Calf. Please pray that our board sends the entire family it is lonely without him. "Curt is now at home. He is coherent and Brandt talked to him on the phone yesterday. I love you all, Let me hear from you. Gailia e-mail From: Gailia Smith Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2002 4:02 AM Subject: family news Dear Family, All is well in Kunming. The weather is growing prettier and we are out a lot more on our bikes. Even our house is warmer. We are sleeping without blankets and quilts. So, this is good. On the bad side, we must move again, no... not to another country but to another apartment. Our landlord sold our home to another Chinese. Our new landlord is so terrible and demanding, thinking we are rich Americans that we have had our full of them. Our contract is up on Apr. 1 so we will be in a new home hopefully by then. We have scouted out homes up our way and have discovered new apartments being built and some are ready to rent. We will be paying half of our rent now, for a brand new apartment. in a better location. ( Jut, you will be glad to know that a new Teresa Pizza is two blocks from our new home and that Grace's bakery is moving there too. Also, the Paul's shop for western food items is located at Jen Shou Yuan gate. Which will not be far from where we are moving.) Brandt is doing better since his father's death. But still not out from under stress yet. He is traveling more and there is too much too keep him busy. He had to leave the day after his dad's death to go south. He has been back home a couple of nights and is preparing to leave with Amber, Marie and I to Mung Lin. We are meeting a friend and some officials of the Wa state in Burma. Becky has a new teaching job in Longsang. Jut you know this is a blessing. Since we are not allowed to live there. But Brandt has set it up for 6 months to a year. Marie is doing fine. She is working hard on her school work so that she can travel to Chiangmai to meet Carrie Hamock, whose parents are going back to Virginia. Nathan is also doing great. He too is doing double homework to go to On Ga Ka with Brandt on a bike trip. Amber is spending the night at Natalie James's house tonight she feels big. Brandt bought himself a miniature pincher, she is cute, but not enough body heat to keep her warm. She is only 7-8 weeks old. We keep her wrapped up in a blanket most of the time, well she sleeps half of the time. Her name is Shall Pay. Which means to accompany in a small way. Despite all our worries, we are doing well. It is amazing how God is taking care of us. I am still at an awe of everything happening in our area of Ch and B'ma. Well I must go... I hope that I can see you when I am in the states this summer. I think of you guys often and pray that you are all well. I love ya again. Gailia Richard's Family We're all looking forward to spring. The Bradford pears and dogwoods are blooming, and the azaleas will be next month. This will be a treat for Sharon, as she hasn't seen all this spring color before. Mom is going to plant a small vegetable garden this year. She has been trimming her pecan trees. A friend of hers has been helping to sell her pecan crop. As have many other people, she had a virus, but is getting her strength back. Her church has been without a pastor for over a year and is still looking. Several potential candidates haven't felt led by God to be their pastor. Mom still sews some and is considering buying a new sewing machine. Speaking of sewing, Sharon is busy sewing nursing uniforms. Not that many people sew any more, but she sure does. She is an RN in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (recovery room) at Greenville Memorial Hospital. It's a day job, since no one has surgery at night. It has really good pay and benefits as well. She really enjoys the job, which wasn't the case at Altus. An older couple is leasing Sharon's house, with the option to buy. She's hoping they will buy it later on. Jason and Jeremy are planning on flying here from Missouri the last week of July for a visit. They want to see the ocean and visit historical sites. We are planning on taking them to Charleston, where there are lots of historical sites there including cannons and also a battleship that people can tour. Of course there's the ocean--something they've never seen! We will probably take them to a big aquarium in Gatlinburg that people can walk through. We might take them to the mountains around Asheville and tour the Biltmore House. Cecil is selling manufactured homes (full time) and working for a transportation company driving people to or from the airport (part time). The part-time income may very well be going toward a new dryer, as ours is trying to quit. We are so spoiled by these things that people used to consider luxuries! There is talk in the upper echelons of Social Security about contracting out jobs like I have (instead of keeping them civil service). Maybe it won't happen. I do have enough time in to take early retirement, but I really don't want to. If I did, I'd have to start a new career. The contract on our building will expire the end of this year, and rumor has it that it won't be renewed. So we will have to move somewhere else in town. Sharon and I are planning a big garage sale soon; we hope to get rid of lots of stuff. The cat is getting fat and spoiled. Jeanie Elmeda's Family News from Oklahoma City It has been a hectic few months, we attended a couple of weddings: Ben's and Janna's in February then Katie's and Michael's about a week ago. John is now in boot camp. He joined the Marines and will be in San Diego for a while. Carol decided that since John will not need his room, that I should paint it. I wish that I had thought of it first, only deciding that she should paint it. We went on a little vacation during Rachel's spring break. Since the girls now have me out voted, we stopped at every outlet shop and mall between here and Waco. It took three days to get there. Somehow when John left, I lost my veto powers. Lowell says to thank everyone for attending Kate's and Michael's wedding. Some of those in attendance that I noticed were: Monta, Nancy & Randal Patterson, Bill & Mary Watts, Carol Rae, Jessie, and Lloyd. J Joe, Carol, John & Rachel Elder J I just returned Friday from Amarillo where I had spent almost a week with Monta Fay. Joe, Rachel, Lloyd and I had gone to Katie's and Michael's wedding in Lubbock on Friday, March 15. She is Mrs. Crump now. Pete and Joanne were in Amarillo awhile Thursday. It was good to see them. There was snow in Amarillo one day - most all day - Pete called it dehydrated snow, tiny dry flakes. Another day it rained all day and with a total rainfall amount of less than ½ inch. Another wedding of interest was Ben Benavitos and Janna O'Dell. It was early in February. It was good to see relatives at both weddings. Monta Fay is planning a trip to the northwest - perhaps in June. She is studying the map a lot. Sounds like an interesting trip - several of us may go. Love, Elmeda Bill & Mary Watts Webb Watts turned 98 years young on January 10th 2002 and we celebrated his birthday in Muleshoe at the Nursing Home. Attendees enjoyed dinner at Leal's Mexican Restaurant prior to going to the Nursing Home for the party. Those attending were Joy Whitt, daughter; Rusty Whitt, grandson & wife Christi; Beth Higgins & Jan Kuehler, granddaughters; Garrett Higgins, Great Grandson; Whitney Kuehler, Great Granddaughter; C.L. & Tommie Watts; Lester & Georgie Watts, Bill & Mary Watts; Geneva Lowrie and son & daughter-in-law, Gary & Pat Lowrie and Eddie Bryan & Jeanie Smith. Jan video taped the conversation while everyone told stories of years gone by and told a little about them and their families. Uncle Webb enjoyed each and every story and laughed and told a few stories of his own. It was a beautiful day and we shared his birthday cake and wished him many more. He is looking forward to moving into the New Nursing home within the next few weeks. Uncle Webb is loved by all who know him. Editor's note: Webb is a first cousin to Elmeda, Ed, Richard, Virginia, Dale etc… He is the son of John Wylie Watts also known as Bud. Editor

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