November was jam packed with adventure. We started off with getting the house ready for Jeremy's open house. The yard was ready, the food was ordered/purchased and the family pictures were hung on the wall. We spent the first two days of the month preparing the food. Jeremy really got in to helping me with everything. I think it took his mind off of leaving for two years in a few days. I will always fondly remember those last few day he was home. Don't get me wrong, there were some intense times, but they were only because we were all not looking forward to saying goodbye. We spent time together doing family things.
Rick and EllaRene flew in early on 11/3. Naomi played her last game of regular season. They lost and it was tough because it was their first loss of the season. After soccer, I took Nick and Naomi to get their flu shots. The rest of the day was spent getting ready for the open house that night.
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| Home of a loyal Ute fan. Cheer accordingly or just leave. I think that sums it up. |
I would say that the open house was a success. Jeremy and I had fixed some of his favorite things - lemon bars, Brazilian potato salad, chicken pasta salad, homemade salsa to go with the chips... We also ordered PDQ chicken and some sub sandwiches from Walmart .
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| Justin and Jeremy. These two have known each other since we moved here 16 1/2 years ago. |
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| Brother and Sister Smith were two of Jeremy's scout leaders. Brother O'Brien was one of our bishops and Jeremy's seminary teacher all four years. |
We set up a gourmet s'mores bar by the fire pit. There were eight different s'mores recipes with ingredients that the guests could make.
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| It was a huge hit. |
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| President Beckworth (our most recent bishop and our new second counselor in the stake presidency) and Grandpa Rick. |
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| In this group are several amazing friends who have been instrumental in Jeremy's path to being a missionary. Justin Beasley was the committee chair for scout, Traci Adams was in cubs, Phil Tufts is a mentor in several life areas. So many people who love Jeremy and are supporting him tonight. |
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| Another view of the fire pit. I have to laugh and smile because there are mostly kids...and Grandma EllaRene. She is a kid magnet. |
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| This s'more we should rename "The Grover". It was just like a typical s'more except you replace the graham crackers with rice krispy treats and Ouila! |
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| Naomi, Ashley and Jeremy's good friend, Mary Grace. |
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| Another view of the fire pit. This time EllaRene is joined with the current bishop, Bishop Arias, and his family along with the Cuillards. |
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| Tessa is one of my "other" daughters. |
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| A picture of the s'mores bar. It was a hit. |
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| Elle, another of my "other" daughters. |
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| Jeremy, Mary Grace and Naomi |
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| The party ran well into the night. People stayed to enjoy the fire. It was a fun night. |
11/4 we celebrated Naomi's birthday early so Jeremy could be with us. That is the number one thing Naomi wanted for her birthday. After a dinner of stroganoff (of course) we opened all her presents and then had cheesecake for dessert.
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| Nick got Naomi the pair of combat boots she really wanted. I get the feeling he doesn't understand female fashion. Hehehehe! |
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| Jeremy helped me pick out this Pigeon jacket from the show Voltron. |
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| I think she likes it. |
Monday, 11/5, Steve, Jeremy and I went to lunch with Rick and EllaRene at Mr. Tokyo's. We chatted and ate sushi. Jeremy was so happy. He wanted to eat there one last time before leaving and to get to do it with Grandma and Grandpa Cannon was even better.
That night, Steve drove Rick and EllaRene to the airport and then met us at the Stake Center so Jeremy could be set apart as a missionary.
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| Jeremy and President Page (who also served his mission in Brasil) |
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| I guess I should say Elder Cannon and President Page |
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| One last family shot |
11/6 We all got up and ate some breakfast. Jeremy and I searched the internet for printable puzzles to keep him busy during the long flight from Atlanta to Sao Paulo. In the process we got caught up in a crossword puzzle. It was fun to have this time with him. Steve gave him a father's blessing which was amazing. We did the last minute packing of things he had been using and then decided to get out of the house for one last family activity. Jeremy wanted to try out a new custard place that had just opened near our place. We all highly recommend Andie's Custard. By the time we got back home it was time to get ready and leave for the airport.
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| Jeremy wanted one last picture in his "civilian clothes"... |
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| ...and one last silly picture. |
The drive to the airport was a rather quiet one. All of us have been dreading and anticipating this day since June.
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| Walking in to the airport. |
We had heard horror stories of missionaries having so many set backs and difficulties getting their tickets and tagging their luggage that we arrived the full two-and-a-half hours early. We were done with everything within 20 minutes and had time to kill.
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| Those are NOT some happy faces. |
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| Avoiding the actual moment of goodbye at security. This was SOOOOOOO much harder than I thought it would be. I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. (I still feel that way, one month later, writing this blog. Yes, I am crying now) |
Jeremy was trying to be so brave up until the last moment. He took each of us aside and gave us a hug and some words of advice/wisdom. He is going to be such an amazing missionary. Watching his walk away, all alone, through security is easily one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. He looked so small. I had a one of those moments where you know they are grown up but you see them as they were when they were three. As luck would have it he was randomly chosen to have a full security check done on him and his carry-ons, probably because he looked upset. They were giving his such a back time that the lady at the beginning of the security check point almost let me go be with him until the officers were through with their very thorough check. He passed, of course, and was on his way.
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| One last wave and then he was gone. |
There were a lot of tears as we drove home from the airport. I went into his room just to feel near to him and the picture below is what I found. It is a testament of his sense of humor. I didn't clean it up until a few weeks after he left. I finally found the strength to wash the clothes he wore last when I walked into his room and almost had a heart attack because I forgot he had left them there and I thought someone was in his room.
That night was the cross country banquet. Nick had a great season and is already looking forward to track in the spring and cross country again in the fall.
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| Getting his award |
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| During the cross country banquet I got this picture from a member who was travelling through the Atlanta airport. These are all the missionaries flying to Sao Paulo together. It did my heart good to see Jeremy with his travelling buddies. He was not alone any more. |
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| Modern technology is so amazing. I could watch the progress of his flight and know it had arrived safely. |
Jeremy was able to send a quick email once he arrived at the CTM. He let us know he was okay, emails would come on Tuesdays and he missed us. Cue water works all over again. I am so grateful to know he got there safely.
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| This is a picture of all the missionaries that arrived at the CTM on November 7th with the CTM president and his wife. This is a HUGE group. Most of the other pictures had 10-15 missionaries. Jeremy is in good company. He is on the second row, third from the right. |
November 7th was also a good day here in the states. I got a lot of prep done for Thanksgiving. Tabitha and I got the menu planned and assignments made. I got two lessons planned for seminary. Naomi taught the Beehives how to water color and Nick went bowling with the young men. It was a good day. We all kept ourselves busy so we wouldn't miss Jeremy so much. I was feeling really good about the day because we were all in bed (minus Steve who stayed at the church to play basketball with the guys) at 9:30. At about 10:45 Naomi woke me up to tell me she had thrown up. I expected a mess, as she was covered in vomit, but I was not prepared for the immensity of the clean up project. I sent her to take a shower while I got to work cleaning up. There was a trail from her bed, down the hall, into the bathroom and all over the toilet. This was going to be a major job. I got her bed stripped and her ceiling cleaned off (she has a loft bed and is only feet from the ceiling) and was starting on the floor in the hall when Steve got home. He got the carpet cleaner out and finished wiping down walls and her bed while I got the carpet cleaned. We set up a temporary bed in the bonus room on one of the air mattresses in case she needed to get to the bathroom quickly. We were all cleaned up and back in bed by 12:30. She was fine the next day and went to school, but it was an eventful night.
11/10 I went to seminary in-service and Steve took over being a soccer dad for her first game in the tournament. They lost the first game by one goal. I took over at the soccer field and Steve went to help out with scout training at Camp Belk. Naomi's team lost the second game and so they were out of the championship. It really wasn't fair. The four teams had been consolidated into three because enough players couldn't be there for the tournament. The strongest players were all put on one team and they dominated the tournament. Coach Jason was so proud of our girls for not ever giving up. The fought to the end. After soccer we went to get Naomi some more clothes. She has hit another growth spurt. Nick needed a pouch for his cell phone while running. We also got some groceries, complete with ingredients for several meals in the InstaPot. Oh ya, we got an InstaPot and the kids have cell phone now. We are all going in different directions. Everyone needed a phone. Big things are happening around here as the kids grow up. Back at home we baked pizza and watched a few episodes of "The Office" before heading to bed.
11/11 was stake conference. Steve got home from scout camp in time to come with us. Back at home Steve and Nick power washed the outside of the house. Our home owners committee had left us a letter telling us to get it cleaned by the end of the month or else. While they did the outside of the house, Naomi and I redid the carpets in her room and in the hall. We had missed a few spots in the middle of the night. Later that night we had some friends over to enjoy s'mores (we had left overs from the open house). It was a fun evening.
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| Nick really liked cleaning the house. |
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| It was a great way to end the day. |
11/12 we did not have school. Naomi's friends put together a surprise party for her. The story was that Lucy wanted to go to the mall and I was going to take them. The real situation was everyone was meeting at Lucy's house to surprise Naomi. It worked. She didn't expect it at all.
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| Haylie, Arias, Naomi, Lucy, Ashley and Bella (on the floor) |
That night we headed to PDQ for the end-of-season party for Naomi's soccer team. There were awards and t-shirts and.. everyone had a great time. This was a fun season.
11/13 Naomi is officially 13!!! At school, her friends and teachers made sure she felt special. At lunch, her science teacher (Mr. Blackman) had everyone sing happy birthday to her. We also got an email from Jeremy telling us about his first week.
11/14 I got to proctor the ACT at the high school. It wasn't the usual proctoring job. I was positioned in the hall and was to relieve the teachers if they needed to leave the room during the test. I paced the hall and read a book. It was a fun couple of hours.
11/17 was a productive day. I got all the grocery shopping done and cleaned the kitchen. Naomi wanted to redye her hair. Nick and Steve spent the day in the garage making boxes for the mentor pins. Nick didn't want to give them out at the Court of Honor. He wanted it to be a little more personal. They also finished up Nick's knife. Steve had given Nick one of his own knifes at the Court of Honor since we did not have time to finish Nick's Today was the day to finish up Nick's knife and Nick got to help. Later that night I was finishing some things up on the computer when Nick came in and said, "At least I did not stab myself in the foot." He had been admiring his knife while walking, tripped and stabbed his bed. Well, he learned how to sew that night. We had to sew his mattress, mattress cover, as well as top and bottom sheet.
11/19 I subbed in the 8th grade. It was an easy day in that we were all going to see the new "Fanstastic Beasts" movie at the mall. The movie was really good and the kids had a great time.
11/20 was the annual Turkey Shoot in seminary. The kids really look forward to it. We also picked up Nick's race packet for the Turkey Trot and Naomi had an ortho appointment. The best part of the day was getting an email from Jeremy. Tuesday is my new favorite day.
11/21 was another prep day for Thanksgiving. That night Nick went to a young mens Marvel trivia and movie night while Naomi, Haylie, Steve and I went to see the second Fantastic Beasts movie. It was so good and they all wanted to see it. The second time it was even better. I was able to put the clues together as they were happening and I noticed more the second time around.
The pictures below showed up on our Google drive on Thanksgiving! Jeremy must have found some wifi. It was worth the two week wait.
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| Campinas Temple |
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| Skyline of the city at the Campinas temple |
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| Elders Cannon, Speth, Johns and Bryner - Jeremy's roomies |
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| Wilkinson (DL), White, Mower, Smith, |
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| Sister Jarrett and Larsen |
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| The view from Jeremy's room at the CTM |
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| Sao Paulo Temple |
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| Cookies from Mr. Cheney's. I ordered the cookies for him just to get a picture for me. WIN-WIN |
Thanksgiving day was packed with activity. It started bright and early in the morning with the Turkey Trot. Nick looks forward to this race every year. Last year he was unable to run due to an injury right before the event. This year he was ready.
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| At the start line. |
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| GO! |
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| And he is off. |
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| He ran the 5k in 21:40. He was the 21st runner (out of over 800) to cross the finish line and placed 7th in his age bracket. |
Thanksgiving Day was a lot of fun. The Tufts joined us for dinner and activities. Dinner was amazing. Steve and Phil had fried the turkey and it was so good. Afterwards we had several activities going on at once.
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| Tessa loved tossing rings onto the unicorn horns. Steve and Phil were willing unicorns. |
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| The game started out passive and became progressively more active. |
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| Phil and Steve enjoyed being unicorns so much they left on the costumes and gave the slack line a try. |
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| The unicorn hats helped with balance. |
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| Naomi and Callie in the hammock. |
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| Elle wanted to be a unicorn too! |
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| Paige and Callie gave the turkey shoot a try. |
The day was a great day. Nick was exhausted by the end of the day after racing in the morning and playing with the kids all afternoon. He had an upset stomach that night. Thank goodness he is quicker at getting to the bathroom and a better aim when he is there. He felt better the next morning.
11/23 we all went out shopping for Black Friday. I had been looking for long boots for months. My last two pairs had finally fallen apart after three years. Rack Room Shoes was having a buy one get one free sale and so it was new shoes for everyone. I got my boots, Nick got new Sunday shoes, Naomi got some colored combat boots and Steve got some comfortable shoes that do not aggravate his plantar fasciitis. We also went to Kohls to get something Steve has wanted for a long time. Their foot massagers were on sale for half off. The line for check out went all the way to the back of the store. One guy at the front said he had waited in line for over two hours. Steve didn't want to wait that long so he found a way around it. If we went to the jewelry counter and bought some of the fine jewelry (which was 70% off) we could get out there in 20 minutes. It worked like a charm. I got some really pretty opal earrings for only $25, Steve got his foot massager and we didn't have to wait two hours.
Back at home we took the extra turkey and made individual turkey pot pies. They were a huge hit with Nick. He said they were better than Hot Pockets which is the highest compliment he could give me.
11/24 we decorated for Christmas. At first it was hard to decorate without Jeremy, but once we got going we caught the spirit of the season. We didn't put everything out, but the house is festive. That night the Utes and BYU played. Utah was down by 20 at the start of the third quarter. They managed to rally and win 35 to 27. It was a lovely thing.
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Why did I think of this brilliant idea?!
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More pictures of Jeremy came at the end of November. The one is from Mr. Cheney's and the other two are from the mother of one of the missionaries in Jeremy's district. We are all friends on Facebook so we can share the rare pictures when they come through.
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| Totally worth it just to get a picture of his smiling face, |
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| Buddies on the bus on the way to the temple. |
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| Jeremy's district at the temple together. |
11/25 Naomi's team met up one more time so Coach Jason could hand out the Sportsmanship Awards to the girls. They may not have won the tournament, but they played hard and were gracious in defeat. In my estimation, this medal is better than the first place trophy.
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| They may not have won the tournament, but they got the Sportsmanship Award. |
November 30th, I was substituting at school and several people asked me how Jeremy was doing. While I was talking to one person another would join the conversation. They were all so amazed that a young man would willingly leave his family to go to a foreign country to teach people about Christ. Jeremy is planting seeds here in Charlotte while he is in Brazil.
That night Naomi and I were part of a small group who had the privilege (aka got to the Sign Up Genius before it got filled up) of helping paint the commemorative 20 year mural for the school. It was a festive night. We all brought a treat to share and spent a couple of hours painting while laughing and talking.
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| Helping paint the 20 year mural for LNC. |
As you can see, it was an emotional and fun month with a myriad of activities that have created some lasting memories!
