Christmas letter to the Rudds — December 1986
During December of 1986, Glen and Marva Rudd, Susan’s parents, were serving as President and Matron on the New Zealand Temple. I penned a letter to them as part of our family Christmas greeting. The letter gives a little flavor of what was happening in our lives at this time.
Dear Parents-in-law,
Greetings from one of your ‘out-laws’! This letter will probably be arriving around Christmas time, I hope. I express my love and respect for you, both as parents and as examples to me and my family. I admire you greatly for what you are doing. I am sure that this experience as temple president and matron has been challenging but also very rewarding. I am sorry that Susan and I have not been able to come to New Zealand while you have been serving, but our family situation has precluded it thus far.
We are in our new home now and we absolutely love it. The home is incredibly beautiful and perfectly suited to our little family. Noel Ballsteadt is a great builder and his homes are so well done. We are hoping to close on our home within the next two weeks. They are finishing a playroom and cold storage room down in the basement, and installing air conditioning this week. We love the area. We have marvelous neighbors and the ward is very friendly and progressive. Since we have moved out to this area, Charlie, Rob, and Matt have all become interested in homes out in this area. We hope they all move out here. I think that Rob has already put his home up for sale. They found a home in South Sandy that they really like. John and Annie have adapted to our new location very well, and they have many children their age in the area.
My work is going very well. I still work two 24-hour shifts per week and the baby business is good at Holy Cross Hospital. Aimee has agreed to let me do an epidural for her when she comes to the hospital in labor. That will be an exciting time. Dr. Latteier is still very busy. He is a delight to work with and he greatly admires you and your great influence in his life. He will probably practice for just a few more years.
We are so thrilled with our new little girl, Jane. What a great blessing it was for us to get her. She has a sweet disposition and we love her so much. She is still having some problem with colic, and she doesn’t sleep well at night yet. It is a full-time job for Susan to attend to her needs. Annie and John think she is pretty neat, too. We will be able to finalize the adoption in about 2 months, and then we will bless her in church.
We are looking forward to a fun and eventful Christmas season. The children are excited. It is quite a challenge to keep Christ in Christmas with all the materialism that surrounds this time of the year, but we are hoping that we can enjoy our gift-giving and at the same time remember the real reason that we celebrate Christmas.
Thank you for raising such a sweet daughter as Susan, and for sharing her with me for eternity. She is a wonderful companion and mother, and I love her dearly. I desire so much to help her lead a happy and fulfilling life. I am proud to have you as parents as well, and to be part of the great Rudd family.
We hope to see you within ‘three to five’ years, and that your health continues to be good. God bless you in your work and have a wonderful Christmas. We will be thinking of you.
Much love from one of your ‘desperadoes’,
Michael.
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