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.
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). 
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.
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.
We love you all and hope you are enjoying the warm spring weather as much as we are.
Sincerely,
Matt, Karalee, and Baby Fredonia
