May 1985

5/4/1985: Stephen, Michael and Peter went to the S.S. picnic at Jones’ farm. The boys wanted to go fishing.
5/11/1985: We all went to an Experiment Station picnic. We had steaks and Naomi enjoyed the strawberries. When we got home there was no water as the pumps have failed. The Donalds had some water and Stephen went & filled up some jugs.
5/12/1985: Got up this morning and still no water. We washed up the best we could and went to church. When we got home we had water and it felt good to get cleaned up.
5/13/1985: Dr. Boswell 10:00 Linda
5/14/1985: We didn’t figure the next time we would be without water would be so soon but today it was off for a few hours.
5/17/1985: Stephen’s softball team finally wins a game. After the game, Stephen and the boys go to McDonald’s for ice cream and get back late. Linda was worried to what happened to us.
5/25/1985: We all went to the church picnic at the Jones’ place. We had borrowed some fishing poles from the Pierce’s. At first the fish were not biting but after supper Peter caught two & Michael and Daddy caught one each. All three were excited. We surprised Mommy with them.
5/26/1985: Today was the Canterbury’s last Sunday. We were one of the last ones to leave the reception. Pam Davis taught our class. We didn’t realize how much we enjoyed teaching the boys and girls. We sure missed them.
Michael smashed his finger in the car door when he got out at church. For a moment he just stood there, then let out a blood-curdling scream. His finger appears to be OK but the nail is already black.
5/31/1985: We had the Raymer’s over from the agronomy dept. We had a cookout.

March - April 1985

3/15/1985: Grandma and Grandpa Barr arrived today. By the time we picked them up at the airport and went out for dinner Naomi was too tired and fussy for a party. We will have the cake and presents tomorrow.
3/16/1985: We had Naomi’s party today. She really enjoyed her cake but wasn’t really interested in her presents. I ended up opening them all.
3/17/1985: Mom and Dad left today. They will be back though with Grandma Margaret sometime after Easter.
3/23/1985: Grandma Ott and Aunt Sarah came today. They will be staying through Thursday. It was kind of a surprise as the just called to let us know last night they were coming. Sarah’s friend in N.C. isn’t there any more but they wanted to use the tickets anyway.
3/25/1985: Sarah and I took the boys to story hour and left Naomi with Grandma. Naomi does just fine with Grandma as long as I’m not around.
3/26/1985: I did a little bit of shopping today & took Sarah with me. This gave Mom Ott a chance to be alone with the kids. I think they all enjoyed it.
3/28/1985: We took Mom and Sarah to the airport today. Whew! After having them and my parents almost back-to-back, it will be nice to just be “us” again. We enjoyed the visits but are glad to get back to our routine.

4/7/1985: Stephen and I have taken over the 2 & 3 yr olds during church. This was our first Sunday. I think it went well and I feel that I’m really going to enjoy it.
4/19/1985: Naomi’s tooth finally came through today. I didn’t think it ever would.
4/22/1985: Dentist – Boys 1:00
4/25/1985: Dentist – Linda 9:15

February 1985

2/3/1985: Stephen left for his trip to Biloxi today. We got the boys ready for church, dropped them off and then I took Stephen to the office where everyone was meeting. Naomi is sick so I couldn’t go to church.
2/4/1985: We had a little bit of ice and snow tonight while I was at my decorating class tonight. It was the worst we have had although I still wouldn’t consider it bad. One of the women panicked and left early.
2/5/1985: We have had a busy day today.
2/7/1985: Bud P.M.
2/12/1985: We have had a busy day today. First we went to story hour. Then we went to the airport to see Grandpa Barr. He was supposed to have an hour’s lay-over but his plane was late so we only got to see him for about 10 min.
2/15/1985: Today was a tough day for Michael. We threw his blanket away. It had disintegrated into nothingness so we finally got rid of it. He was devastated. We offered him another blanket but he wouldn’t have anything to do with it.
2/23/1985: The boys were outside today helping Daddy carry leaves to his pile. When Peter was dumping out his bucket he fell and was covered with ants. We raced him into the shower and later gave him a baking soda bath. He seems a little better now. Michael was standing by Stephen as he was cleaning off Peter’s clothes and got a few bites too.
2/25/1985: I have stopped nursing Naomi. I have been planning to stop for a while so when I got up this morning before her I just got food ready for her. She didn’t like that at all. Afterwards, I just sat and held her and cried along with her. I didn’t realize it would be such an emotional experience for me.

January 1985

1/7/1985: Tonight was my first decorating class. The teacher spent most of the time telling us what we would be doing throughout the class. She ended up by showing us how to make the icing. I never thought there was so much involved but if you don’t get it just right, you won’t be able to make nice decorations.
1/9/1985: Naomi took her first steps tonight! Just one step each time but she was so excited about it that she kept standing back up to try again. We were pretty excited too. Naturally I had to call my folks. When I told them to guess what exciting news I had Cindy said “You’re pregnant.” If she’d been here, I would have bopped her.
1/15/1985: We went to the Atlanta Symphony tonight. It was fantastic. There is so little culture in this town, we have to take whatever we can get. Even Stephen enjoyed it.
1/17/1985: Michael has a bad cold. I took him to the doctor but as usual, I wasn’t terribly impressed. He barely looked at Michael then said he had the croup but he’d give him penicillin just in case.
1/20/1985: The weather has turned really cold today. The temperature in Atlanta was down to 4°. Naomi & I didn’t go to church because she has picked up Michael’s cold. They cut the morning service short because of the “inclement” weather and cancelled evening services. The boys got a chance to play in the snow (just a dusting) and had a ball.
This evening we had the Bracketts over for games and had a really nice time.
1/21/1985: The schools were closed today because of the cold weather so my cake decorating class was canceled. How disappointing.
1/22/1985: The boys went to their first story hour today. Debbie and Joceyln went with us. The boys seemed to enjoy it although they didn’t say much about till later this afternoon.
1/23/1985: I took Naomi to the doctor today. She is so hoarse that I can barely even hear her cry. Dr. Calvin examined her and I was no more impressed than with Dunaway. He said that usually hoarseness is from some kind of virus and gave her some medicine without even checking out what kind of virus she had or if she does indeed have one!
Stephen left for Baton Rouge.
1/24/1985: Stephen came home tonight. He wasn’t supposed to come home till tomorrow but the meetings got over early so he booked a flight home tonight. We were all very glad to see him.
1/25/1985: Naomi has another tooth through. It was totally unexpected. She was leaning her head back laughing and I just happened to see it pushing out of the top. Maybe that’s why she got the cold so bad.
1/30/1985: Naomi is sick again. She was well for 3 days but now she has a cold again. I hope it’s just another tooth coming through.
1/31/1985: The boys went down to Jocelyn’s house today. While they were there, Sarah Cannady came over. I was glad that I had to go get the boys so I could tactfully ask her to leave. I think she would have stayed all day otherwise.

December 1984

Car registration expires Dec 16
12/1/1984: I got out some of the Christmas decorations today and the boys about went berserk. They are so excited.
12/3/1984: The boys went to play with Jocelyn today and they fought most of the time about Christmas and whether it was Baby Jesus’ birthday. How I pray that our witness will be effective.
12/4/1984: Stephen called from the office and asked if we would like a tree for $5.00. the station was selling them. At first I was a bit leery but it turned out to be a lovely tree.
Tonight Debbie and I went to a holiday tasting party for Station women.
12/6/1984: We went to pick out our pictures tonight. They turned out fairly well. We just wish they had printed the picture of Naomi in the 5x7 size so we could have some wallets to send to relatives.
12/7/1984: Naomi had her 9 mo. check up today. She appears to be doing fine. She weight 16 lbs 15 oz and is 26½” long.
Stephen went to the doctor today. After waiting for 1½ hrs the doctor finally saw him and just asked him how was doing. I was furious. It could have been done over the phone. The only positive thing is that he will get the cast of the 21st.
12/8/1984: Our Sunday School class had a party tonight. We went to a restaurant and Stephen & I both had catfish for the first time. I enjoyed mine but Stephen wasn’t terribly impressed.
12/15/1984: We went to an open house at the Laughlin’s today. Since Reuben & Milly Beverly were scheduled at the same time we all went together. It was a good chance to get to know them a little better.
12/21/1984: Stephen got his cast off today but I don’t really think it was a good idea. His foot is still swollen and bruised. The doctor says it’s not healed yet. He has to come back in 2 weeks to have it x-rayed.
12/24/1984: The boys are really excited. They put out some candy for Santa and an apple for Rudolph.
12/25/1984: Michael woke up this morning with the flu. How disappointing. He laid on the floor to open his gifts. He wasn’t too excited about the whole thing.
Peter, on the other hand, was quite exuberant. We made the boys take turns opening gifts and he could hardly wait each time.
12/26/1984: We left for Michigan today. We got a late start because we weren’t sure if Michael would be able to travel. We only made it to Williamsburg, KY which is just inside the Kentucky line.
12/27/1984: We got to Grandma & Grandpa Ott’s at about 9:30 tonight. We had some pretty rough driving including a patch of zero visibility fog around Findley. Naturally, I was driving. There is a lot of snow on the ground and the boys wanted to go right out to play. We told them to wait for tomorrow morning.
12/28/1984: Disaster! It warmed up and rained during the night so there is no snow for the boys to play in. they are really disappointed.
12/29/1984: We went up to East Lansing today to do a little bit of shopping. We had hoped to see Ruth and Baray but they weren’t home.
12/31/1984: I went to visit Mary today. It was so good to see her. It has been too long. I wish we lived closer. I have really missed her.

November 1984

11/2/1984: We had our picture taken for the church directory tonight. I hope the pictures turn out well.
11/9/1984: Naomi got her first tooth today! It’s about time! She has been fretful and not sleeping well all week. Maybe now she’ll start feeling better.
11/12/1984: We took the boys to see a puppet plat at the library. It was Jack and the Beanstalk. They seemed to enjoy it. It was kind of spoiled by someone getting up at the end and saying that he didn’t appreciate the moral values it presented.
11/15/1984: We went to a Newcomer’s dinner tonight sponsored by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce. It was fairly nice but I was really glad to be able to get out to the fresh air afterwards. The cigarette smoke was suffocating. We took the Bracketts and they seem to enjoy it too.
11/16/1984: I took Naomi to the Doctor today. She has a terrible cold. I had hoped the runny nose would go away after she got her first tooth but it’s gotten worse plus she has developed a cough. The doctor prescribed Amoxce and said to call back if she isn’t better by the beginning of the week.
11/17/1984: We were going to go to the mall today but we discovered that the car is pouring out gas. So we had to turn around and come home which upset the boys terribly. Then Stephen tried to start it tonight and it died completely. May we ought to just bury it!
11/19/1984: Naomi has 2 teeth now!
11/20/1984: Naomi has learned how to climb over obstacles. She was practicing tonight by climbing back and forth over Daddy who was laying on the floor (as usual). The boys used to do the same thing when they were babies.
11/22/1984: We had a nice Thanksgiving today. We had hoped Phil could come, but he didn’t make it. When we asked the boys what they were thankful for, Peter said “our baby” and Michael said “that we can go to Grandma & Grandpa Ott’s at Christmas.”
11/24/1984: Stephen went to play volleyball tonight. While I was feeding Naomi, I got phone call from one of the other players. Stephen had sprained his ankle and was at the hospital emergency room. I had to call the Bracketts and ask them to go pick Stephen up.
11/25/1984: 24 hours after Stephen hurt himself, an expert finally looked at the x-rays. It seems that Stephen had fractured the ankle. They wanted him to come right over so they could put a cast on. Stephen convinced them it could wait until tomorrow when he will see the doctor.
11/26/1984: There does not seem to be a concern about Stephen’s ankle. The doctor things it may be a separated ligament and a bone chip. But, whatever it is, he put on a cast which Stephen will have 4-6 weeks.
11/30/1984: Naomi used her teeth on me when she was nursing tonight. I screamed and pulled her off. She didn’t like that at all. Well, on the 10th Naomi goes for her checkup and I will ask the doctor what I should give her when I’m weaning her.

October 1984

10/3/1984: We have new neighbors at the bottom of the hill – Bob & Debbie Brackett. He works at the station. They have a 4 year old daughter & 9 week old son. Margaret Duncan came by to tell me about them so I took a loaf of bread I had just baked and went to meet them
10/6/1984: Buddy & Nancy came over today. The kids had fun in the pool and the adults squared off on the badmitton court. Stephen and I need more practice if we are going to play against other people.
10/7/1984: We were going to go to Mt. Gilead church today but Stephen’s folks called and we go kind of late so we went to Second instead. Sarah Kennedy asked me if we had joined yet because she wants me to work with the teens. I’m not sure about that idea at all.
10/8/1984: We went to the fair tonight. It’s a pretty small fair. The boys got all excited about the livestock, then they saw the rides. When they rode the merry-go-round Peter rode on a fixed horse. Michael rode on a regular horse with me holding him but he was still scared. Then they went on the paratrooper with Daddy and were absolutely terrified!
10/10/1984: Naomi went from a crawling position to a sitting position. She was so proud of herself she was smiling all over. She knew she had really done something.
10/18/1984: We have new neighbors down the hill. Bob & Debbie Brackett. He works at the Experiment Station. I took a loaf of bread I had just baked and introduced myself to them and told them we help any way possible. They have a 4 yr old daughter and a 9 wk old son.
10/20/1984: Naomi pulled herself up to a stand today. She was so excited.
Tonight we had dinner at Chuck Laughlin’s. He is the director of the Experiment Station. There were several other couples who were new to the Station.
10/21/1984: We joined Second Baptist tonight. We did it in the evening so the whole family could stand up front but Nomi was shanghaied by a little old lady who loves to hold babies and was trying to make it easier for us up front. Oh, well, the best laid plans . . .
10/26/1984: Naomi woke up with her eye matted almost completely shut. I took hr to the doctor who said she has pinkeye.
Stephen was in Athens this evening so we went over to Julia Chan’s home (C.J. was with Stephen). We all went to Burger King for dinner. It’s nice to get to know new people.
10/27/1984: Stephen and I went to our first performance with the concert series. It was Max Morath Quintet doing ragtime, jazz and “popular” music. It was thoroughly enjoyable.
10/29/1984: Naomi started eating carrots today. She didn’t like them. She made a terrible face and spit. I mixed them with her cereal and she didn’t do too badly. By her 3rd feeding she ate the whole teaspoonful.
10/30/1984: We made the boys jack-o-lanterns today. I thought they would enjoy getting their hands in them to clean them out but they really weren’t thrilled about it. I ended up doing it all. But they were excited about having them and had to keep watching them flicker.
10/31/1984: The boys went trick-or-treating tonight. They wore the masks they had made at Sunday School. They were upset that Daddy didn’t take them to more houses. We finally had one visitor at about 9:00.