JANUARY 2026 - New Year - New Beginnings

WINTER 2026

We are actually still waiting for Winter to arrive.  We have had unusually warm weather with very little precipitation for this time of year.  Much to Russ's dismay we have even done some yard work this month.  We have hibernated for much of the month as we recover from a very busy December.  

BYU VOCAL POINT 

We received tickets for this concert as a Christmas gift and it was high energy uplifting phenomenal music from 7 young men who make music together.  It was an enjoyable evening that lifted our spirits.  

As a bonus we saw friends from Texas who were also attending the concert.  The Kimball's and Larry and Gail Manion.  It is so fun seeing friends at unexpected places.  

The next night we were back at BYU for the Men's VOLLEYBALL MATCH.  

So much power on the court and so much energy in the crowd.  They clocked some of the kills at 80 mph.  BYU won in 3 matches.  

COSMO was busy in the stands taking pictures and making it a fun night for all.  

AND WE ARE OFF TO WICHITA KANSAS

This picture was taken from the airplane and was the most beautiful Sunrise but my phone just did not capture the beauty.  It was so bright it would only take a thin line of color.  

This week as I was doing Scripture study I came across some scriptures that tell about experiences with Jesus Christ that were so sacred they could not describe it or were told not to write it down in the records.  They talked about sometimes in the English language there are just not words to translate some of the scripture passages with adequate meaning and so by studying in the written language you might get more from the passage and better meaning.  I thought about this picture and how the camera could not capture what the eye could see and the beauty of the scene.  

Brian and Beth flew to Boston MA to celebrate Brian's Birthday.  We got to spend 5 days with William and Nora trying to keep up with their busy schedules.  We are not used to keeping such a strict schedule and we were so glad Beth had 4 pages filled with all of their activities.  

Nora is a soccer player and in the Winter they do indoor Futsal - a fast-paced 5 on 5 soccer variant played indoors on a basketball-sized court, often using a smaller, low-bounce ball.  She had a tournament and we watched 2 out of her 3 games.  It is nice seeing her progress.

They both tried out for the Wichita Theatre 2026 Productions.  It was an all day event with Russ and I dividing and conquering the schedule to get them to all of their events.  Picture on the left is William in the Dance routine tryout.  He got a call back for his singing and I was amazed at how talented he is and knew the song they asked him to sing at the call back and just went back in and sang without even practicing.  

He was cast as the Chef in the production of The Little Mermaid and Nora was cast as one of the Sea Urchins.  We will return in March to see them in the Show.  We played lots of card games, ate good food, shopped at ALDI - Oh how I miss that store - and got hooked on Lego Masters on TV.  

Williams Selfie

Josh and Julie traveled to New York City to celebrate Josh's Birthday and their 25th Wedding Anniversary.  Josh wanted a carry-on bag and so he went to work on creating a new leather bag.  He continues to amaze us with his design skills and then his ability to make it just how he wants it.  He was inspired by his memory of his Grandpa Haney's saddle bags and their construction.  He said it fit perfectly under his airplane seat and worked just like he wanted it to.  

Our Scripture Study for this year is The Old Testament with an emphasis on finding Jesus Christ - Jehovah in the Old Testament and the study of Covenants.  As I have studied and taught in Sunday School I have also been studying more about the Temple and uniting families together.  As a result, I have spent many hours working on Family History and finding my ancestors.  I have worked for over 5 years on my Father's line with not much progress.  They are from Germany and the records are only in recent years available.  After many hours I made an appointment at the Family History Library to get some help.  I was getting a little frustrated that they were not going to be able to help me much when the worker clicked on the Memories Tab and someone had recently found a legal document listing the Family with all of the children authenticating what I had been trying to find.  We printed it and compared it to the records I had and she looked at me and said, This IS YOUR FAMILY.  I knew it was and it all came together.  I have worked hours this week getting it all entered and all 9 children with their spouses and children finally put together.  I am so grateful for the Tender Mercies that helped me add more pieces to my family puzzle.  

EVENING IN SALT LAKE

We ended the month by taking the Front Runner Train to Salt Lake for a nice evening of Dinner, Tabernacle Organ Concert and visiting with our friends John and Denise.  

The weather was pleasant and it is always relaxing to leave the driving to the Train conductor.  

While we were at dinner we contacted John and Denise Sivo and invited them to join us for the Organ Concert.  

The Concert featured Daniel Hyde the Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge.  He also is the director of the world-famous Choir and he regularly conducts concerts and broadcasts at home and abroad.  He is also the director of the City of London Choir.  He performed works from Johann Sebastian Back, Mozart, Debussy Buxtehude and Cesar Franck.  It is always enjoyable to hear the organ played using its full capacity.  So many beautiful sounds and the lighting added a nice touch.

They have begun taking the scaffolding down from the Salt Lake temple renovation.  It was a beautiful clear night and also a full moon with Jupiter lined up with it.  

The highlight of the night was meeting up with John and Denise and catching up on life.  They are always so welcoming and the views from their home are stunning.  

THE TALE OF BEING A FOREIGNER

My life has been filled with so many experiences that have changed my perspective on things and enriched my thinking over the years.  I am grateful for the opportunities to have lived outside of the United States and also for the experiences I have had in helping people come and begin a new life.  I would like to share a personal experience that Russ and I had a few years ago.

When we were called to serve a Mission in the Alpine German Speaking Mission we were initially assigned to serve in Salzburg, Austria.  All of our VISA paperwork was for Austria and was completed and sent in for us to be able to live for 2 years in Austria.  The week before we were to leave just before we went to the MTC in Provo, UT we received a call from our Mission President telling us that he had prayed about our assignment and that we were needed in Freiburg Germany.  We were excited for this new assignment and just assumed everything would be taken care of.  When we left the MTC we were told we did not have a VISA but that we would get one once we arrived in country.  We arrived in Munich Germany and were given instructions including all of our VISA paperwork that we had submitted that had not been turned in and told that upon arriving in Freiburg we would need to report to the Government and begin the process for our VISA approval.  The building in the picture above became a place we visited often.  I have to say, we were a little - no a lot intimidated by our first visit.  I did not speak German and Russ was trying to get back in the swing of it.  We turned everything in, paid our money and they said they would be in touch  with us.  We knew we were OK for 90 days on a Tourist Visa.  We got an International Driving license and enjoyed all of the benefits of living in Germany.  When you move to a new city you have 1 week to check in at the Government office and register with the City as well as when you leave you have to check back in a let them know you are leaving.  We always made sure the missionaries took care of doing that as they came and went to different assignments.  Well, our 90 days were almost up and we did not have our VISA. We had to regularly report to the Government and at this time we were told - DO NOT WORRY - you are in our system and you will be fine - just pay us another 150 Euro and come back next month.  

We were traveling regularly to Switzerland and occasionally to Austria and it was a little scary trusting that we really were OK.  One day as we sat waiting for our appointment we watched as a refugee women was being deported back to her Country.  It was a very emotional experience for us as we knew what she would face returning leaving her family in Germany.  She was also working on her paperwork.  

After 6 months of being in Germany - more payments to the Government - we finally received our VISA.  We were so relieved and grateful that the system worked and we were finally legal!  Six months later we received another call from our Mission President and we were asked to transfer to Vienna Austria.  WHAT??  We were finally legal in Germany and loving our time and the people.  This is where we thought we needed to be - until we arrived in Vienna and it was immediately Home.  With that, we had to start the VISA process all over again but for Austria.  That's another story that I don't need to tell - just to say it went well and we were given the VISA the day we turned in our papers.  A Tender Mercy.

My point to this is that there was a system that allowed for us to come and be in the system and be OK.  We hear so much about immigration today in the United States and it is all about anti-immigration or being "legal" instead of working out a plan to allow immigration again in our Country.  We have people in the "system" who are currently being treated poorly. I am glad I was not treated that way in Germany even though every time we had to go to an appointment it was stressful.  

 I talked earlier about doing Family History and finding my ancestors in Germany.  They immigrated in 1881 arriving in Baltimore Maryland and being sent to Illinois and then they settled in the Long Pine Nebraska area.  Some changed their names in the early 1900's because they did not want to have German names in the United States.  They were now Americans!  My family comes from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Switzerland, and Germany.  Each one of them have a story to tell of their Immigration.  

I am grateful they chose to come and that I am an American - a composite of all of them.  They were Irish Catholic, Lutheran German's and a some who found The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in England, Ireland, Switzerland and Wales and came for Religious freedom.  All of that has shaped my life and thinking.  

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf regarding immigration:  "Sometimes as Church  members we have to see where we are coming from before we say, 'We cannot help everyone.  There are too many.  That is too much.  You cannot ask for so much.'  Fortunately, Quincy Illinois did not say that.  They accepted us."

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has long expressed its position that immigration reform should strengthen families and keep them together...We are deeply troubled by the aggressive and insensitive treatment of these families.  While we recognize the right of all nations to enforce their laws and secure their borders, we encourage our national leaders to take swift action to correct this situation and seek for rational, compassionate solutions."  Official Church statement, June 18, 2018.  

As we begin this New Year I want to end with a quote from Pres. Russell M. Nelson that brings me peace and hope for the coming days.

"Some things are simply true.  The arbiter of truth is God - not your favorite social media news feed, not Google, and certainly not those who are disaffected from the Church . . .

Many now claim that truth is relative and that there is no such thing as divine law or a divine plan.  Such a claim is simply not true.  There is a difference between right and wrong.  Truth is based upon the laws God has established for the dependability, protection, and nurturing of His children.  Eternal laws operate in and affect each of our lives, whether we believe them or not.  

Truth isn't relative.  It is man's understanding of the truth that is really relative... Truth proclaimed by Deity is as absolute as Deity."  Contrary to the doubts of some, there really is such a thing as right and wrong.  There really is absolute truth."

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Grimmett's