Massive Update on our personal lives (finally!)

Hello, friends! Here I am with the long-promised update. Since it has been about three months since my last general update, I hope you'll bear with me. This will not be a chronological post, but rather a snippet here and a snippet there.

First, on the work front, I have big news to announce. Some of you may know that I have twice switched shifts on the job. The first time was because of the shift bids. By the time they got to me, the only shift available that would work for me was 11:00 am-7:30 pm. So I worked on that shift for a number of weeks. You may recall me mentioning that I had problems with sleeping on the job. Well, one day, I was hauled in for two meetings with Trent, my former team leader who has been promoted to be a supervisor under our top man on the project. He told me during those meetings that I had twice been caught sleeping on the job. During the first meeting, I was written up for it. During the second meeting, Trent was very frank and direct. He explained that since I had once again been caught sleeping on the job, Young Living wanted me fired, even though I have been getting mostly great reviews from the members I interacted with. Trent told me he had been able to intervene in my behalf and had offered Young Living a compromise: If I would agree to start working on the late shift the next day (Friday; the shift goes from 12:30 pm-9 pm or whenever the phone lines close for the day), Young Living would give me a one-week trial period. If I had no problems during that time, I would be allowed to keep the job. If I fell asleep again or would not agree to this shift change, my employment would be terminated.

They had me over a barrel. Since I wanted to keep my job so we could maintain eligibility for a loan to buy a house, I had to agree to switch. So I am now working the evening shift. It's turned out to be a good thing. Due to health problems, I have had to miss work on several occasions, even taking many unscheduled days (like today) off because I didn't feel well. Where on other shifts, all my absences would ordinarily result in write-ups and perhaps employment termination, I have found, much to my delight, that the afternoon shift supervisors are a lot more easygoing and would only have me written up if I have unexcused absences. They are also much more easygoing about what we can do during our downtime at work. Where the day shift has to stick to the rule of no non-work related internet, my supervisors on the late shift don't mind if we visit favorite sites during our downtime, as long as we are not checking our e-mail or using Facebook. That's why I've been able to post so much Church-related news after work that I find out about during work. And with the late shift, I can get most of my medical appointments (including physical therapy) taken care of before work, rather than having to take time off during work for them.

Additionally, my work has given us 16 hours of approved time off for each month. Any time not used during a month rolls over to the next month. Also, I haven't had one single incident of sleeping on the job since changing shifts. Trent stopped by my desk the other day to tell me that my trial period had ended and that I had proven to Young Living that I was worth keeping, that there had been no complaints about my conduct since switching shifts. This was great news. I am out of the woods as far as that is concerned. One thing that does trouble me is my continuing absences due to health difficulties. I am working with my doctors to resolve these problems, but I  still am missing one or two days per week due to my health, and that's not good.

In the interim, I have developed vertigo. I have been seen by many doctors for it. Just yesterday, we went to the Hearing and Balance Clinic in Provo. The doctor there has suggested some things that he hopes will help me. I have met numerous times since my last major update with my neurologist, and she has suggested things that, so far, are helping me feel better. The main problem for me health-wise now is my vertigo. That is what prevented me from going to work today. Thankfully, I have been able to get notes from my doctors that have kept me from getting into any trouble at work for my absences.

Our families are doing well. My older sister, her husband, and their son moved to the small British-owned islands of St. Kitts and Nevis on my sister's birthday, May 4th, so Lyle can go to medical school. He will be on an accelerated program that should only take 1½ to 2 years. We are missing them, but know it is wonderful for Lyle to finally fulfill his life-long dream to become a doctor. I have been able to Skype with them a couple of times, and that has proven to be a great way to keep in touch. Amy's brother that is just older than she is was admitted to the hospital a few days ago with a torn aorta. He is out of the woods now, thankfully, but that still gave us a bit of a scare. My brother Neal's wife Sammi was admitted to the hospital several days ago after she passed out. What's going on with her remains to be seen, but we hope and pray for the best for them.

We continue to look for a house. There have been a couple that we have been interested in, but either they are bought by someone else while we have been trying to get a loan to pay for them, or they are out of our price range. The Lord has told me that He wants us to stay in the American Fork East Stake, where I have been ever since moving to American Fork 16 years ago. I have felt very strongly that I haven't finished the purposes I have come to the East Stake to fulfill. This makes our search for a house difficult, as many of the houses in this stake are over-priced, but I know it's where the Lord wants us to be. So something will work out.

Amy had a doctor's appointment last week because she was feeling ill. We had her thyroid levels checked, and she was also tested for mono. I hope the doctor is able to find out what is causing her to feel so sick all the time. Our lives are complicated enough without both of us being plagued by health issues.

My headaches are a lot better controlled now that I am on a better medication schedule. I take my first set when I wake up rather than having to get up early in the morning to take my first set, and making allowances so I am covered pain medication wise even when we stay up later.

I will be getting a new home teaching assignment next week that is effective this month. I will lose one of the families I home teach and perhaps pick up one or two new ones. Sundays have been great days for us with visiting family after going to Church, or just relaxing at home.

Saturday was my 10 year (where did the time go?) High School reunion. It was much better attended than the 5 year one. We had a lovely catered dinner (although I did cheat on my celiac disease diet for it) and got a tour of the new parts of the high school from one of the janitors that works there. That was great fun. I found that I had the stamina to deal well with the walking tour of the school. And my strength and energy held out for the whole reunion, which I was grateful for. It was an awesome event, and I am very grateful to all the Senior Class officers of the class of 2005 for making this 10 year reunion such a success. Directly after the reunion, we did some errands. At the Wal-Mart market, we ran into Dallas Smith, one of my teachers from AF Junior High School. We greeted each other enthusiastically, and he asked about my family. It was a good capstone to a great day.

We were able to go to the Payson Utah Temple Open House. I was able to walk all the way through the temple with just my cane, and I was grateful to be there for that. I was VERY excited to find out about the Provo City Center Temple open house and dedication. I am glad the First Presidency is making the temple dedication available to all LDS members in Utah, rather than just restricting it to those who live within that temple district.

I have loved keeping my eye on Church-related news, and I know that for the most part, those posts have been widely read and appreciated by my readers. I am so grateful that the article I wrote for the Ensign will be featured in the July edition. I have also gotten back to writing my first book. I've come a long way with that, and I'm grateful for all the support I have gotten and the interest that has been shown about my first book. I fully anticipate that I will have that book published before the end of the year.

Amy and I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary in December, so we've been making tentative plans for that. That has been great fun. How grateful I am that the Lord saw fit to bring Amy into my life. She is everything I ever wanted in a wife, plus infinitely more. The only way our lives could be richer is if we were blessed with children. But I feel confident that will come when the time is right. For the moment, we treasure any and all time we can spend together.

That, in a nutshell, has been our lives for the past three months. It's been wonderful to be alive, and I have every confidence that life will continue to be fantastic. There is so much to be grateful for in this life! I would like to end this post by thanking all of you who follow this blog and have expressed interest in and support for all that is going on in our lives. This blog would be nothing without my readers. You all give me a desire and reason to write. If I become any success as a writer, it will be because of the wonderful people like you all. Thanks again. Until I write again, all the best!

Concepcion Chile Temple Groundbreaking Date Announced/Progress Report on First Book/Reminder about Ensign article

I know most of you will probably be let down by the fact that I haven't posted that general update yet. I meant to do it this weekend, but other things got in the way. I had to post today to share some more exciting LDS Church Temple News. As reported by ldschurchtemples.com, the Church has scheduled the groundbreaking ceremony for the Concepcion Chile Temple to take place on Saturday October 17. This will be the third temple groundbreaking in 2015. I anticipate at least one or more temples will have their groundbreaking announced before the end of the year, whether they take place late this year or early next year. Construction on the temple is anticipated to take 2-2½ years, which means it will be completed either late in 2017 or early in 2018. How thrilling it is to see all these temple-related developments! I will keep my ears open for temple news and will share it with you as time and circumstances allow.

Here's a updated list of temple developments. I have included all updated dedication and construction news that I am aware of.

Temples Undergoing Renovation:
26. Mexico City Mexico Temple: Scheduled to be rededicated Sunday September 13, 2015.
86. Montreal Quebec Temple: Scheduled to be rededicated Sunday November 22, 2015.
91. Suva Fiji Temple:Scheduled to be rededicated Sunday February 21, 2016.
33. Freiberg Germany Temple: Anticipated to be completed in mid-2016.
8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Anticipated to be completed in late 2016.
41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Scheduled for renovation beginning September 7, 2015.

Under Construction:
147. Trujillo Peru Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday June 21, 2015.
148. Indianapolis Indiana Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday August 23, 2015.
149. Tijuana Mexico Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday December 13, 2015.
150. Provo City Center Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday March 20, 2016.
151. Rome Italy Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2016.
155. Hartford Connecticut Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2016.
156. Fort Collins Colorado Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2016.
152. Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-to-late 2016.
153. Sapporo Japan Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2016.
157. Paris France Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2016.
158. Meridian Idaho Temple:Projected to be completed in mid-2017.
159. Star Valley Wyoming Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2017.
154. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Projected to be completed in 2018.

Announced:
160. Cedar City Utah Temple: Local government approval phase; site plan presented at January 2015 meeting; groundbreaking scheduled for Saturday August 8, 2015.
161. Concepcion Chile Temple: Approval phase; temple and site design plans complete; groundbreaking scheduled for Saturday October 17, 2015.
168. Tucson Arizona Temple: Construction approval phase; general contractor selected; groundbreaking pending.
165. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Planning and approval phase; temple and site designs complete; groundbreaking pending.
162. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Planning and approval phase; land purchase finalized; groundbreaking pending.
169. Arequipa Peru Temple: Planning and approval phase; final piece of land for temple site acquired; groundbreaking pending.
164. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.
167. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.
170. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.
163. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.
166. Durban South Africa Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
171. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
172. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
173. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

I will also announce an exciting new development in my personal life outside of the personal update: I have resumed work in earnest on my book. I have been adding scenes to previously written chapters, and doing a touch up here and and a touch up there, Once that's done, I will write scenes for the final part of the book. No word yet on when it will be ready to publish. It all depends on how swiftly I can finish it and how quickly Brandon Sanderson reviews it. Then before I submit it to a publishing company, I plan on enlisting the services of my mother to proofread it. I have tried to be conscientious about grammar and punctuation errors, but it will help to have Brandon and my mom review it for content needing to be changed and grammatical errors, since they aren't nearly as emotionally tied to the project as I am.

I also remind my readers of something else: my first published work will be an Ensign article that is scheduled to appear in the July 2015 edition, unless it gets bumped for something more important, like Elder Perry's funeral proceedings (which may be included in an insert rather than the magazine proper) or something else similar. It will appear in the Young Adult section. Be on the lookout for that. It will be good to get my name more widely known before publishing my first book.

As always, I will keep you updated on temple, writing, or publishing news. And I promise, I will very soon do the massive personal update I've been promising. You can count on that.

Two Major Addresses given recently by General Authorities/Sunday School General Presidency Reorganized

I am posting today for two good reasons. The first is to give a brief report on two major addresses given to two major governmental organizations, and the second is to report on (Friday) today's reorganization of the Sunday School General Presidency.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, during a Europe tour, addressed an All-Party Parliamentary Group in the United Kingdom's House of Lords on June 10 on the subject of how the Church's humanitarian aid can help in the midst of religious conflict. For a report on his address, please see this article. Yesterday,Elder Jörg Klebingat encouraged dialogue and deeper understanding among global faiths in an address to the Fifth Congress of Traditional and World Religions, which convened in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, June 11, 2015. For a report on his address, please see this article.

Mormon Newsroom reported today (Friday) that the Sunday School Presidency had been reorganized. Tad R. Callister remains Sunday School General President. His former second counselor, George D. Durrant, is now the first counselor, replacing John S. Tanner, who will start his new assignment as the new President of BYU–Hawaii on July 27. This made necessary the calling of a new Second Counselor. Brian K. Ashton will assume that assignment immediately following his return from being president of the Texas Houston South Mission. He becomes the youngest currently serving auxiliary leader in the Church. I knew that a reorganization of the Sunday School General Presidency would follow the announcement of soon-to-be President Tanner's new assignment. But I didn't expect it to happen this fast. It makes me wonder if perhaps a new apostle might be called soon. But I really don't anticipate that happening until the week before General Conference. Anyhow, I got off topic. This was exciting news to me, and I am happy to share it with my readers.

Barring any unexpected post to report on Church News, I fully anticipate that the next post will contain my long-promised massive life update. The longer time goes by, the more things happen that I need to report to you who read this blog. And the more things happen, the more daunting the update becomes. So I bump it in favor of the latest Church News. But I promise, it is coming soon. You have my word on that. Thanks, as always, for reading my posts.