HAPPY NEW YEAR! Every year my Dad and I would pick a theme for the new year. It was something we did every New Years Eve. Last year for 2020 he was no longer with us and he was missed. I want to keep the tradition going and so in Haney fashion I came up with a new slogan for the year: GET IT DONE IN 21! Our themes related to our Business adventures, life, family and Church. Little did I know what that would really mean for me in the coming days.
We have been planning to move to Utah for the past 8 months. We were going to build a home with our daughter, Emily in Lehi, Utah. They had purchased the land the year before with the intent to build. We had plans drawn up and Engineer approved. We had a contractor and bids and were going through the process. With Covid, lumber shortages and fires that have affected the cement industry, building prices have escalated. We thought we would break ground in the Fall and then hopes of January. The contractor came back with a new bid for $70,000 more and a timeline of 1 year or more to build with all of the shortages. Over Christmas we decided to look at homes available on the market that would fit our needs. We found a home in Lindon, Utah and our whole life turned upside down immediately. We had two homes to sell and to purchase a new home. By January 5th we had our homes on the market and had signed a contract for our new home. Both homes sold by January 9th and we have not stopped working since that time. We have had to have "mountains" moved and we have witnessed many tender mercies and blessings.
Pictures of our home in Texas just for the memories:
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| Office |
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| Sun Room/ Dining |
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| Master Bath |
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| Master Bedroom |
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| Kitchen |
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| Dining Room |
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| Living Room We have been packing most of the month. Oh, the memories. I made a trip to Utah to finally see the home that we had purchased via ZOOM with the Realtor. We started the process to plan for a few renovations that will need to be done to accommodate both of our families. I helped Emily as she had some medical procedures that she was having done. It was a whirlwind 4 days but we accomplished a lot. I flew home and welcomed Jaime, Abby and Emma who came to have a final visit to our home in Texas. Emma also celebrated her 12 Birthday with us. She was born in Texas and moved to Minnesota when she was just a baby. She had not been back to Texas in Ten years. I could not believe she had not been to grandmas house at least that she could remember. We just always go up there to see them. We had a great time for the week they were here. They were a tremendous help to us. We emptied our attic - over 40 storage bins and other things. We narrowed it down to about 15 and donated and threw away the rest.  Abby is now 18 and she wanted all things Texas. We spent a whole day visiting boot shops and found the perfect pair for her. Emma left with a Pioneer Woman (Oklahoma) Cowgirl hat, and fun T-shirts. Jaime drove their Suburban so they would have a more enjoyable drive and she made sure it did not go home empty. It was filled to the roof with food, furniture, clothes, memories and her Texas wall star she had to leave behind 10 years ago when she moved to Minnesota. We loved having them visit. It is not a trip to Texas without a visit to Braums, Shipleys Donuts and a drive to Waco.  Jaime's Banana Split from Braums. There are just good memories of girls night outs at Braum's that my girls love to go back and visit.  We stopped on our way down and again on the way back. This is a favorite tradition for many years and it was fun to share it with the girls.   Nutella and Chocolate Cream Cheese. Family has come and gone since December. We have had plumbers, electricians, Inspectors, Foundation Inspectors, Appraisers and people buying furniture pieces non-stop for the past two weeks. The house is mostly packed and we are just tying up loose ends. Still have a few pieces of furniture to sell or give away and we will be ready to close on our home, February 9. We were asked to speak in Church last Sunday and we were grateful for that opportunity. It has been 9 months since we gave our homecoming talks, but we were not meeting at Church and did them over YouTube. It is still very different with only 40 people in Church and many still listening over the Internet. We feel like it has been 3 years since we have seen most of our friends in Arlington and we will miss not being able to say good-bye to many of them. We have been so blessed this past year. So many friends and family have had Covid-19 and so many recently. We continue to be vigilant in trying to protect ourselves. Russ had his first vaccination and will be getting the second dose on Feb. 9. I don't qualify until February so I will have to wait until we get to Utah. I talked in my talk about all of the safety measures we take to protect us from Covid and other diseases and then reflected on what are we doing to protect our spiritual well being. I have written a lot about this subject this year. I continue to be grateful for the time I have had to BE STILL and to study, ponder, pray and to serve others in new ways. When you are serving a mission, you just serve and don't ask questions or wonder, "am I too busy to do this". You just trust the Lord and do what is asked. It is hard to explain being totally consecrated to service with not many other distractions. Coming home, we sometimes let "things" get in our way. I have been blessed to be a Ministering Sister to a Sister in our Ward that has a lot of needs. I have had to trust in the Lord and seek His guidance many times as I have served her. It has been a special experience for me as I have watched the hand of the Lord in my life and acted upon the impressions I have received. When we act in faith and in behalf of Jesus Christ, miracles happen and we grow to love those we serve. The Lord directs us in paths we don't always understand and sometimes for just a small season and then we move on to learn and experience other lessons. I am so grateful for all of the experiences for growth that I have had the past 42 years in Texas. We were given opportunities to serve at very young ages. Because of the people the Lord put in our paths with more experience and wisdom, we were able to serve where we were asked and learn and grow from those experiences. We know there will be many more opportunities for service, just in another part of the Lord's vineyard . We ended the month with a drive to Temple Texas to visit our dear mission friends, Claudia and Randy Bretzing. They currently live in Mesa, Arizona and closed Thursday on a new home in Belton Texas. We were so excited that we were going to both be in Texas and then - things changed. We were able to see their new home and spend a wonderful day together. We took them some West, Texas Kolaches and introduced them to our tradition and things they need to see and do in their area. We will always have a part of our hearts in Texas and will be back to visit. So we are only at the end of January and we are GETTING IT DONE IN 21. I am not sure what else is in store, but it is starting out to be an exciting year. If we thought 2020 was memorable, I don't think we have seen nothing yet. A few pictures of our new home in Utah:    More photos next month after we move in. From Deep in the Heart of Texas we send our love, The Grimmett's |
