Our New Place

Hey, everyone! Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Things have been kind of crazy. We are very nicely settling in to our new place in the trailer in Orem. We are so thrilled with this move! Things have been so much better since we started living here.

My work attendance has been spotty lately again. As I feared, the distance from the job has lulled me into a false sense of security about my attendance at work. The last two weeks, I have clocked in about half as much time as I did the previous two weeks. We're hoping I can work every day the rest of this week, including putting in some time on Saturday, But we'll have to see what happens.

I had a chance to speak to our new bishop on a rare weeknight when I was at home. I let him know of my Celiac Disease and a need for a separate tray, and he very kindly informed me that he was fully aware of what that entailed because his sister-in-law has it. He said that I just needed to bring my bread in a bag, like I've been doing, and they would make sure it got to me. He also got our records transferred over to our new ward that same night.

Unfortunately, we arrived at Church last Sunday after the meeting started, so I didn't get a chance to get the priests my corn tortilla piece. Thankfully, we got there in well enough time to partake of the sacrament, and the good news is, I didn't have any reaction of any kind to the bread with gluten in it. Church was great. For the first time in several years, I was able to attend Gospel Doctrine with Amy. That was great. I then went to Priesthood Opening Exercises, where, for the first time since we were on the 11 am Church block with the AF 21st Ward, we began the meeting with a hymn. The lesson was one we'd already had in my previous ward. I met a lot of good brethren and felt right at home. After Church, for the first time in a while, we had deacons stop by for Fast Offerings. I felt bad about turning them away. We were also able to fill out a form for our new ward that the bishop had gotten us. It was great. We're going to be just fine here, and the ward instantly felt comfortable to us.

We've had kids stop by volunteering to mow our lawn for us and selling stuff for money for their school. We hated turning them away and agreed that, when we can afford to do so, we would gladly give money to help out with stuff like that. We are thrilled with the neighborhood. I have been going to Walgreens pharmacy to get my prescriptions and have been quite impressed with them.

With my dad's help, we were able to get our TV working with just a converter box (no antenna needed), our washer and dryer going, and a new dishwasher installed. It needs new parts, though, so we will have to wash dishes by hand for the time being. We were grateful for his kind assistance.

I spent today sick at home after throwing up early this morning. My stomach settled down easily, thankfully, but I guess I must have been wiped out from all the nights during which  haven't slept well or at all. I slept the day away, only getting up and ready for the day @ around 6 pm. I have been grateful for my sweet Amy helping me and even going the extra mile for me in the midst of all this. Have I mentioned  how amazing this wonderful wife of mine is? Words aren't enough to adequately express how I feel about this sweet, wonderful woman, who sacrifices so much to help me whenever I need it. I love her more every day. She is truly my better half, my life, my love, my all, my everything. With her by my side, I can face anything and everything life throws at us.

My next post will focus on general conference. Until I write that one in a few minutes, I wish you all the best! Thank you all for your readership, interest, and support.

Report: Funeral Services for Elder Richard Gordon Scott/We will start moving in tomorrow! (Wednesday's the big day!)

I wanted to post about a couple of things. First, to get it said and out of the way of the more important item, I wanted to let my readers know that the current owner of the trailer is planning to have all her stuff moved out by tomorrow. We have to go over and retrieve the bill of sale, so we will be moving in some of the smaller stuff at that time. We will also get me set up so I can pick up my prescriptions in the future from Walgreens, which is on the same road as the trailer court. I think I will be happy with Walgreens' pharmacy, which opens an hour earlier and closes an hour later during the week than Fresh Market does. Only problem is, it closes at 6 pm on Saturdays. But I've considered my options very carefully, and Walgreens just seems to make the most sense.

My purpose in mentioning all that is leading up to the fact that I will be taking a bit of time off work tomorrow to get these things taken care of. And I have been granted approval to have Wednesday off to help move the bigger things, even though I may not be able to get much done that way.

In the meantime, the more important news is that funeral services were held today honoring the life of Elder Richard Gordon Scott. President Henry B. Eyring conducted, just as I had predicted, and, in doing so, offered his brief tribute to Elder Scott., who he said had embraced him with open arms and sound advice when President Eyring first became an apostle.The invocation was offered by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and the benediction by Elder M. Russell Ballard, who now sit with only Robert D. Hales between them after the three apostolic deaths this year. I was spot on in predicting the speakers. Michael Scott did represent the Scott family and paid a beautiful tribute to his dad, mainly focused on the fact that he was with his beloved Jeanene now, along with the two children they had earlier lost. Elder D. Todd Christofferson gave a special tribute in representation of all the missionaries who had served under Elder Scott and his wife. President Russell M. Nelson reminisced about his travels with Elder Scott. And President Thomas S. Monson concluded the service with a beautiful account of his last visit with Elder Scott, wherein he gave him a blessing and told him how much he and the other apostles, and indeed the whole Church, love him. Each spoke in joyful anticipation about a future reunion with their beloved associate in the work of the Lord. It was truly a celebration of life rather than focusing on the sadness of it. The Tabernacle Choir provided beautiful music, closing the service with Mack Wilberg's stirring arrangement of Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I was grateful I had made the effort to get up and watch it.

Now all that remains is to wait for moving day to get here, get the stress of that over with, and then look forward to our first General Conference not only in our own home, but also marking the calling of three new apostles of the Lord. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but the third apostle called will bring the number of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in this dispensation to an even 100. With all the moving, I haven't given any more thought to who might be called. Whether I'm right or not in feeling the way I do about who might fill the apostolic vacancies, the important thing is that I know these men, whoever they may be, will be the ones the Lord would have called to the apostleship at this time. It is my hope and prayer that we will with all our hearts and our uplifted hands sustain these new prophets. seers and revelators as fully as we strove to sustain President Boyd K. Packer, Elder L. Tom Perry. and Elder Richard G. Scott while they were still here with us. If they were among us still, that is what they would ask us to do.

I will get through the next couple of days and then perhaps be able to post pictures of both the old and new dwelling places. I am excited to dedicate another home, just as I did with this place. I am grateful to have been raised in a home where that happened every time we moved. It has definitely made a difference in my life. Well, that's all for now. More to come as time and circumstances allow. All the best until I write again!

Report on the General Women's Meeting

Hello, all! Just posting about the latest in Church and personal news. On a personal note, we are still working towards moving day on Wednesday. Today was our last Sunday in our current ward. It was a very emotional experience for me. I was surprised that Amy and I were again not released from our callings today. I did find out, however, that our ward clerk, Brother Kurt Walker, who was one of the two I had trained to substitute for me in recording the Sacrament Meeting (the other was the Executive Secretary, Logan Day, who is a good friend of Joanna and Lyle and was my home teaching companion for a time while in the ward), had been asked to take over my duties in recording and editing the Sacrament Meetings and burning them on to disks for the homebound. So I turned over the recording device and the wires with it to him today. Tonight if time allows, or tomorrow, I will be contacting Brother Walker via e-mail and turning over to him all my files of Sacrament Meetings and all the notes to the homebound members that I have written. He will stop by and pick up the other supplies (CDs and CD sleeves) sometime this week. Going to Elders' Quorum was very difficult today. I commented a lot during my last meeting with these good friends. And I volunteered to give the closing prayer, invoking the blessings of the Lord upon these good brethren. And so passed our final Sunday in our current ward. Our first Sunday in the new ward will be the week after general conference. In the meantime, moving day is Wednesday. My parents have pledged to help as much as they are able to. Amy's brother Troy has consented to help, as has my brother Neal, and both are bringing trucks on Wednesday to help us move the big stuff. Neal will bring his wife Sammi to help as well, and he even said his little daughter Sage, whom they will pick up midday Wednesday, was good at helping with moving things. I am grateful they are raising her to be a helpful young lady, but I can't help wondering how much help a 2 or 3 year old can be. No offense intended, of course. We may even be able to move some of the smaller stuff into our new place on Tuesday night. But Wednesday's the big moving day. My Elders' Quorum is on call to help us if we need them. We hope to be able to move everything that needs moving on Wednesday with only one trip, but that remains to be seen.

That being said, it's time for a brief Church News update. The General Women's meeting was held last night, as I said. I touched briefly on that meeting in my last post but wanted to give a more detailed summary of who spoke and what was said. The Deseret News gave a good report on the meeting. You can read that at this link. In summary, Sister Rosemary M. Wixom, Primary General President, talked about discovering the divine identity and purpose each individual has. Linda S. Reeves, Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, spoke about recognizing and claiming the blessings that come from the making and keeping of sacred covenants, through baptism, the Sacrament, and temple worship. Sister Carole F. McConkie, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, spoke of the righteous cause for which we are here on earth to serve. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a parable of a young lady visiting her great aunt and discovering the reasons for her aunt's happiness. The Church website gave excellent summaries of these address, which can be found by following this link.

Now all that remains is to wait for this next weekend. I am always excited about General Conference, but this go round I am especially anticipating it not just to see how right my predictions for changes in general church leadership and the speaking order I put together are, but also to hear the messages from all those who will speak, especially our 15 prophets, seers, and revelators, three of whom will be newly called to their positions. And that's aside from any other major announcements, such as more temples or other items like unto that. I will be particularly looking forward to President Monson's remarks, whether he speaks just a couple of times or gives his traditional four addresses. You can be sure to count on my report of all general conference proceedings here on this blog as time and circumstances allow. In the meantime, this week will mark a move for us. And that will include finding a new pharmacy. I will keep you updated on all the good stuff as time and circumstances allow me to do so. Until I write again, all the best!