MARBRUARY

As you may have noticed, Marbruary is not an actual month. It is, in fact, my clever combination of February and March. I have done this because we are already wrapped up with March and are now just barely updating you all on our February. Plus, it sounded much, much better than Farch.

When we last left Karalee and Matt, they had just finalized the deal on their house, Karalee had her last day of work, Matt had been working on a remodel in Midway, they were preparing to move, and they were coming up on five months of pregnancy. What an exciting time for these two young love birds.

I was quite excited for Karalee to have some time with no work before we moved where she could focus on preparing for the baby and many other things she had been wanting to accomplish before we left. However, she chose to be selfless for the umpteenth time and instead offered to help at Midway with my projects. You see, I was quite overwhelmed with the amount of work still left to be done. It seemed like there had been so many set backs that there was no way I was going to be able to finish before it was time to move. Karalee offered to come help me the week before our moving date and even despite me "putting my foot down", she simply patted me on the head, smiled, and said, "You need my help, Matthew. You are just too stubborn to realize it." 

I can't describe how grateful I am for her and her constant display of love through service. We made so much progress that week. We did not finish everything that had to be done, but the homeowners were pleased enough with the work that I had done up to that point that they were willing to stretch our timeline out quite away's so I could finish the last few projects on a weekend here and there over the next couple of months.

 Enter the big move. Kanab is a decent drive from SLC and as far as packing was concerned, we opted to borrow Karalee's uncle's snowmobile trailer so we had to come back for as little as possible. Where did we get so much stuff! I was convinced the new truck would handle the load as easy as peach pie... until we started filling it up. Man that thing got full! Nearly every nook and cranny was stuffed with something. The elders quorum came the night before we left and helped with the heavy stuff and more. The next day, Karalee and I did some final packing and organizing, fed Strydor a puppy sedative, and headed out on our new adventure. It was slow going. If I can help it, I would like to avoid hauling a load that size ever again. Unless I was in a larger truck. At the steep hills we were brought down to crawling semi speeds in some places, but nevertheless, kept on truckin'.  With a few stops and the weight of the load it was needless to say an extremely long drive and we were very much looking forward to be done. However, within 30 miles of Kanab and the sun almost gone, a tire on the trailer blew. We were up in the hills and luckily had one spot with enough shoulder for us to move off the road. The tire change would have gone much more simply if my jack hadn't broken with the trailer halfway lifted. We ended up having to open up the trailer and crawl to the front to find our shovel. After some digging we had enough earth cleared away from the bottom of the tire that we were able to make the change and continue on our way.

When I think back on the past few months and longer, it seems the recurring theme for me is gratitude. Gratitude for blessings, opportunities, and family. Especially family. My goodness, we have had (and continue to have) so much help from all of our family. Sarah came and helped us pack, many of Karalee's family helped us pack, Diane and Mike amidst their busy schedules were at our home in Kanab before we were, cleaning and tearing stuff out. And mom and dad, who can say enough about what they do to help their children. They so willingly sacrifice their time and talents for us.

That first weekend down here working on our home was a whirlwind. Mom and dad were here, Karalee's menfolk, Kendall, Adam, and Nathan were here, of course the Downwards were here, and the Foxes too. In fact nearly everyone was at our house helping tear out the mold in the basement and clean even before we were! By the time we got there our first night, it was completely dark and we were exhausted. Our home wouldn't be in a decontaminated state for several days and yet again, the Downwards were kind enough to let us stay at their place a few nights.

By raise of hand, how many of you have felt that unless someone saw what your home was like before, they would never appreciate the hard work and changes that have transformed it into what it is now? That is our feeling. I could tell you about the trailer load upon trailer load of moldy drywall taken to the dump. I could tell you about the stained carpet defiled by years of felines. I could tell you about the raised floor which dad basically lifted with his bare hands so we could cut the bearing wall studs to drop it level. Yes, I could tell you these things. But my goodness, seeing it day by day, little bit, by little bit, gradually transform into a comfortable home is beyond words. It makes us so (here it comes!) GRATEFUL for everyone that has given of themselves to help us in our new home. Truly, Karalee and I are very blessed to have you in our lives.

 Alas, I am tangented. Oh yes, life in Kanab.

 The short version: We are thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

The last part of February and the majority of March have been very eventful as we have explored our new home and gotten to know a few of the people in the area. I started my new job and Karalee was very quickly approached with two different job opportunities. However, in both instances we felt that now was not the appropriate time for that. 

We have our rhythm of house projects going. Karalee has been relentless with what she accomplishes during the day (although she would strongly disagree with that point). I'd say she has easily done more on our home than I have. After work, I come home and I'll pick one or two things to work on. With large, potentially overwhelming projects (such as the endless list of everything to be done on our home) we are seeking to develop a scriptural perspective--by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. It has only been a month and a half since we have moved here, but many of our visitors comment on the amount that we have accomplished which makes us feel quite warm and fuzzy on the backside, er I mean, inside. Its inside right?

Oh, while I'm thinking about it, these HFE's have provided the most consistent journal that either Karalee and I have ever kept. We are working on compiling pictures with them as well and Karalee has started our family blog so that family far off can keep updated in the life of a Henke. What we have to say will basically be word for word from our HFE's, but it will give us the medium to share pictures too. If any of you would care to see it is mkhenke.blogspot.com 

Karalee's tummy is growing everyday. I don't quite know exactly how I'm supposed to go about relaying how she is feeling about being pregnant. I have no idea how she is feeling! But I will say this, to me she looks as cute as ever and I love it when she calls me to see and feel the baby move. I feel sorry that there is physical discomfort involved in the growth, but our excitement for our little girl is a constant discussion. We have found that walking is a huge relief and we love the fact that we have unlimited access to hiking directly behind our home. Everyday when I get off work, we'll take Strydor and take some time to walk and talk. It is a refreshing daily ritual to say the least. Karalee has had two midwife appointments in St. George and both have been... successful? Baby is healthy and unusually active (so we're told). 

Karalee and I were excited to move to a smaller town, but sometimes we just have to laugh because we've been slightly city-tized. Our first morning in our home we were awoken bright and early at 5 a.m. by our neighbor's rooster. Karalee rolled over into a cuddle and with a dreamy sigh and a smile said, "Do you hear that, Matt? I can't decide if its magical or if I want to kill it." Also, our other-side neighbors work at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and have plenty of dogs, chickens, and dwarf Pygmy goats they let us borrow to mow our lawn whenever we want :) What perks!

The first part of March, we were able to take a date night to St. George which gave us both a good meal and a brief break from house projects. I also took a weekend to finish some things in Midway. It was an extremely late night working and the next day on the way home, I hit what had to be the worst blizzard I've ever driven through. I am not usually unnerved during driving inclement weather, but for the last hour and a half of the drive I was white knuckled and full of prayers. There were several times, the snow was so thick I could not see more than 10 feet or so and ended up "feeling" my on the road with the rumble strips. At one point I passed a semi going the other direction who it looked like only moments before had his entire trailer slide across all three lanes of the highway (my lane included) and luckily straightened out before I passed. Scary stuff.

One thing which I am surprised to have forgotten in our January HFE was letting you all know about our application process for Swiss Days which is a large exposition of overpriced homemade and handmade products held in Midway in September. We have some good friends who grew up in Heber and have encouraged us in the past to make some of our wood "things" and sell them at Swiss Days. We had never really considered it until this last Christmas when we made a pair of small wooden rocking horses as Christmas gifts. They were so fun to build and beautiful enough we thought "What the hey, we'll give it a shot!" If accepted as a vendor, booth fees are a pretty penny so we are actually partnering with these same friends and hope to each sell our own overpriced products :) The actual application was quite involved and took a fair amount of January to finalize, but on March 15th, they let us know that we are now one of 180 vendors accepted out of over 700 applicants. Now comes the crunch! We're hoping to build 80 - 100 rocking horses among other products so we need to get crackin'!

Over March we have been pleased to welcome multiple sets of visitors. Our friends Shawn and Kaylee spent a night at our place on their way down to Arizona. Shannon and Adam and their two kids came and spent an extended weekend helping us immensely in the yard. They were able to go as a family and visit some parks in the area and we even had an evening where Shannon was kind enough to take some pregnancy pictures for Karalee and I. Nathan and Jennifer also came and spent a weekend with us helping us IMMENSELY in the yard and house. Nathan and I spent the entire day on Saturday digging and winching stumps out of the back yard and Jennifer cleaned our windows to the point that I'm surprised no birds have flown into them. Mom and Dad came the same weekend that Shannon and Adam were here and Dad helped install some cultured marble in what was our broken and moldy shower (despite him not feeling to well!). It was fun to visit with all and be able to share our progress on the home with a few family and friends. 

Lastly, it has been wonderful (and pleasantly surprising) to have met and gotten to know several young couples in our area and ward.  We have multiple couples in our same phase of life that we have started some friendships with. One set is our next door neighbors who actually moved from New York to Kanab specifically to work at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. They seem very genuine and we had the opportunity to have them as well as a few other couples over for bbq's. Since Karalee and I have been married, I have never had such an impression as I have had with them, for us to share the gospel. They are not LDS or married and are having a baby girl one month after ours is due, yet seem like such good people with hopes of raising a good family. I've just recently started praying for opportunities of missionary service and hope that some day they may reach a point to receive what we hold so dearly.

Well that's our two months. Many little miracles, lots of service, and a heap of adjustments.

We love you all and hope you are enjoying the warm spring weather as much as we are.

 Sincerely,

 Matt, Karalee, and Baby Fredonia

Our Little Family is about to get a Little Bit BIGGER!!!

For those of you who don't know, Matt and I are excited to announce that we are expecting a baby GIRL in May!

This is an older picture, but I love that we caught a profile of her sucking on her thumb.

Our ultrasound tech. told us that in the 15 years that she's been doing her job, our baby was one of the most active little thing's she's ever seen. 

Yes.  She moves. A LOT. So we're lucky that we got the picture before she wiggled onto her next position.

January's Family Email

 Hello family,

Never have we had such a start to a new year as we did with this one. I will forewarn you that a fair amount has happened in the Book of Henke this month so this may result in a long-winded regaling.

Let's see... where to begin... ah, January 1st.

As you will recall, in December I accepted the job down in Kanab. We were and are excited for this change and at the start of January were very anxious to see what type of housing possibilities were available for us. We have been praying, planning, and saving to get into a home once we left the in-laws, but had decided early on that we would base our decision to buy or rent in Kanab on whether we found a realistic option in our price range. Much of December was spent looking online at the homes for sell in that area. Obviously, because it is a small town there were only a few options, and even less so because we did not want to max out on what we qualified for in a home. This left us with about ten different homes we were interested in viewing. I contacted a Realtor in the area and we set up the 2nd as our fun-filled day of house hunting. Mom and dad would already be headed south on their way down to New Mexico for Uncle Doug's funeral, yet they were kind of enough to go a few hours out of their way to spend the day with us reviewing the homes checking for structural integrity etc.

Karalee and I left for Kanab early on the 1st and met mom and dad at Mike and Diane's. We awoke early the next morning and met our Realtor to start our adventure. Throughout the day we hit six "No Way's", two "Maybe's", and two "Hmmm-This-Could-Be-Our-Home's". At the end of the day however, there was one home in particular that stood out above the rest. Word on the street was that this house was going to be reduced significantly in price which only made the possible deal sweeter. Thus started our month of waiting, praying, high emotion, frustration, and excitement! Everything that accompanies a home purchase.

Immediately after our trip to Kanab, Karalee and I headed out for a weekend in Delta. Mom and Dad were in New Mexico, but that is part of the reason they let us stay at their house. You see, at the beginning of every year on the first available weekend we hold our Annual Henke Summit (better if said with a loud booming voice). Its a chance for us to go over our yearly finances, make goals, talk big dreams, have fun, etc. We look forward to it, and this year's was no disappointment. We had a wonderful weekend, talked about our big plans and goals for year, watched Back to the Future III, and went out for ice cream. We are extremely grateful for these times when Karalee and I can maintain our relationship and make memories.

The remainder of January can be broken down into five categories:

1. The Work

2. The Cruise

3. The Truck

3. The House

4. The Move

1. The Work

The job that I started in Midway quickly grew in size within the first several days of working there. This was both good and bad. Good because the homeowners were very pleased with the work I was doing and excited enough to ask "Can you do a bid on this?", "Just give us a bid on on that.", and "Oh, why don't we throw that on the list also." But bad because every new add-on increased my timeline more than what was originally expected. Eventually we had to draw a line as to what I was able to do before we moved to Kanab which included (deep breath!) crown moulding in two rooms, wainscoting boxes in two rooms, chair rail in one room, three large closet remodels, patching holes, repairing walls, removing walls, removing old base board, installing new baseboard, building two giant built-in bookshelves, a banquette, and built-in desk, and painting the entire interior of the house all three stories--ceilings, trim, & walls all different colors. Phew. The addictive remodel bug strikes again. As overwhelming and pressed for time as I felt every once in a while, the majority of January I was extremely grateful to be so busy and plus all proceeds were going to the Henke House Fund so it was extra motivation to do as much work as I possibly could in this amount of time.

Its about an hour from where we live to the house I was working on and the first week of January I commuted every day, but the commute was reducing the amount of time I was able to be working on the house. I checked with Uncle Paul and Aunt Jane and they have been kind enough to allow me to stay with them during the week. They live right in Heber so it puts me less than 10 minutes away from the jobsite.

Karalee spent the month of January going strong with the U.S. Welcome Pavilion. It was often difficult and frustrating to deal with her boss at times because she is (in my opinion) a poor communicator and extremely ill-tempered at a moments notice. However, I think very highly of Karalee for carrying such decorum and professionalism in an environment where very few others did. Despite the negativity around her, Karalee remained positive and was blessed to share many bright moments with her coworkers. For example, one coworker organized a "Name Karalee's Baby" jar and got everyone involved and excited about Karalee's pregnancy. This is jumping slightly ahead to February, but also on her last OFFICIAL day of work, the majority of Karalee's coworkers surprised her with a farewell treat. They brought her down to the lobby where they were all waiting with a few small gifts and freshly made cheesecake. It was a very special moment for her to experience.

2. The Cruise

Shortly before Christmas we attended the Christmas party of my good Delta friend Shawn Eliason and his wife Kaylee. After the party, we stayed to chat a bit more and they approached us with a proposal. In their words, due to the fact that we were having a baby and weren't going to be able to do anything fun together for at least the next forty years (pish posh I say), they wanted to go on another trip with us before the baby came. They had been doing some lollygagging online and stumbled upon a 3-day Carnival Cruise for an extremely good deal per ticket... leaving in 3 weeks. Conveniently, the majority of the cruise was over a weekend which worked with everyone's schedules so we hopped aboard the Spontaneity Express and signed up. 

After work on the 14th, we all loaded in our car and headed south for winter. The original plan was to spend the night in St. George at a friend's house, but a blown tire stalled us while Terral and Mary were kind enough to put us up for the night on such short notice. Luckily, we found a tire shop which opened early enough that we could get some new tires and still make it out to L.A. in time for boarding. The ship sailed all night and we woke up the next morning in Ensenada, Mexico. We made a day of bartering with the local shop owners, miniature golf tourneys, lots and LOTS of good food, new friends, and a few on ship performances. Shawn and I even stepped out of our comfort zones and participated in Karaoke night. We felt pretty good about our performances until we were easily upstaged by a large black woman whose wig flew off during her energetic rendition of "It's Raining Men". I could say much more about our trip, but it sufficeth me to state that we had a very very good time and are so glad we had the opportunity to go. We love making such memories with our good friends.

3. The Truck

Another major event of January was selling my Nissan. We wanted to take advantage of the KSL classifieds one last, major time before we headed south so I listed my truck in the middle of December to see what range of offers came in and what type of truck we could hopefully upgrade to. The goal was to find a full-size for greater towing capabilities and a crew cab which could actually fit a car seat.

After many a scammer, some no-shows, and plenty of low-ballers, a few realistic buyers came to view my truck. Eventually, one gentleman and I settled on a price and Karalee and I bought an F150 we had had our eye on that same day. Thankfully, we were able to sell my truck, buy the new truck, and still have some cash left over for some minor repairs and maintenance that needed to take place.

4. The House

I couldn't do justice to the amount of emotion that went into our experiences with purchasing a home, but you have all already been through that so I doubt I would need to. Therefore, the Reader's Digest version:

The house that we had settled upon was lowered in price, but nowhere near the amount that it was expected to. Our Realtor recommended that we still offer the amount we were originally considering which ended up not even being considered by the bank. Take two. Our second offer sat on the table for quite some time with no counteroffer, feedback, or even a peep from the bank! Oh the humanity. Right before the deadline of when the bank was supposed to respond, the bummer happened--another random offer came in from a couple living in Montana (who had never actually seen the house) working through a Realtor in SLC (who had never actually seen the house). At this point, the bank requested that both parties submit their "Highest and Best" offer and we concluded that it was worth it to us to offer more to see if we could not win the bid. Hallelujah, our prayers were answered. Our final offer was accepted we are beyond elated with the home and its potential. Since then, the papers have all been signed, and the deed is on the way.

5. The Move

All of these things I have written were woven together in a month that passed both so slowly because of anxious waiting yet so fast! In the few moments Karalee and I had together we attended a birthing class  on Monday nights and spent plenty of time packing and organizing. We are excited about the upcoming month and the many months after.

This last Sunday I gave the lesson in Elders Quorum. It was focused on Ezra Taft Benson and his lectures on agency and how our use of our agency determines our eternal outcomes and happiness. When I look back on our month of January, I feel immense gratitude for the many individuals in my life who have helped me understand the power of CHOOSING to be hopeful even when things don't appear that they may work out how you would like them to. After twenty some odd years, it is finally starting to click that experiencing adversity is not optional, but the choice you make in the midst of adversity is. Cheers to a life blessed with family and friends!

We love you all.

Matt, Karalee, and Margaret (aka Baby Henke)