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A proverb says all good things must come to an end. It supposedly originated in the writings of Chaucer, about 1374 - though the word "good" was apparently added later, so the original thought was a reminder that both good and bad things in our life will eventually pass.
Is that true?
Well, in a current situation for us, it is true - one good thing IS coming to an end. It started almost two years ago - in anticipation of our full-time mission, our son Matthew and his wife Jenna sold their home and moved in with us. The plan was for them to care for the home for 18 months while we were gone, and then find a new home of their own when we returned.
That was a great plan, but then—COVID. We came home unexpectedly from our mission after only 6 months in Argentina, and moved back in! We were uncertain when, or even if, we would be able to return to complete our mission. They had money needed for their home purchase tied up in a short-term investment. So we all decided to hang tight, and enjoy being together for a bit.
Eventually we realized that we would not be returning to Argentina but would complete the 18 months of our service from our basement. Late last year, Matt & Jenna started looking for their new home. That's about when the housing market went bonkers, with the supply of homes for sale far less than the demand. They looked at countless homes throughout Utah Valley, and made offers on FIFTEEN homes before one was finally accepted! That was in early May; they closed in early June, and after we all worked together to prepare the new home (repaint, carpet, etc.), they finished moving out today.
We #GiveThanks to have been incredibly BLESSED to share our home for 22 months, and to be in the home together for about 16 of those 22! It has been SUCH a joy for us! We loved being a part of their lives, watching the children grow up (Daxton is now almost 7, Avery is 4, and Sophie was born 3 months ago), witnessing their wonderful parenting skills, sharing meals, having sacrament meetings together and later attending church meetings, playing games, working in the yard, serving in callings, babysitting, laughing and loving all the time. We could never have anticipated this sequence of events, but we will always consider it a treasured part of our lives. Thank you, Matt & Jenna and family!
Now we just need to figure out how to have a comparable experience with our daughter Sarah and her family! 🙂

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