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)
