The Cannon Fab 5: July 2019

The whole first week of June was spent cleaning the house. It had been far too long since the house had a good cleaning and it was time. Between seminary, subbing full time and running the kids everywhere we had not kept up like we should have.

June 1st Nick had his physical for school so he can be on the various sports teams this year. Naomi played her last soccer game of the season. That evening Nick worked and the rest of us went to Tess Licastri's graduation party.

June 2nd as I was reading in the scriptures I randomly reread Alma 52. This is the story where Moroni, Teancum and Lehi retake the city of Mulek by tricking the Lamanites in the city into believing that the small Nephite army passing close the city will be easy to defeat and, thus, the Lamanites leave the safety of the city walls and pursue the decoy Nephite army. In the end, the Lamanites are surrounded by the Nephites and taken prisoner and the Nephites regain the city of Mulek. For some reason this chapter hit me hard with the message of "Sarah, how have you been led away from the things that are important that you should be protecting? Are you being led away by a decoy army?" I started doing a re-evaluation of my past few months and looking for places I needed to do some changing. It was an interesting answer to the fasting and prayer of my heart on that Sunday. You will see the application of this message manifest itself in the next few days' events.

That night was seminary graduation and I got to listen to several of my students perform a musical number and watch as my four seniors got their diplomas for seminary completion. It was a cool night.

Celeste, Mary, Autumn, Hunter

June 3rd, I had just finished cleaning the bathrooms when Jeremy's email came through. It took me by surprise even though Jeremy had prepared me somewhat the previous week. He was for sure coming home early. I knew that his companionship with Menjivar had been rocky, but apparently it was so much worse than Jeremy had let on. He couldn't say much other than he would be home on Saturday. I cried a little bit with Naomi and then we got to work getting the house ready for Jeremy's return.

June 4th we cleaned all the carpets in the house. Jeremy had mentioned how much he missed the soft sensation of carpet in one of his emails. We wanted to make sure the carpet was extra soft for him. Also, the carpets were really disgusting and needed to be cleaned. That night we contacted the stake president to ask if he had heard anything about Jeremy coming home early. He was very surprised the hear it and said he would look into the details and get back with us.

June 5th, President Page let us know that Jeremy was coming home on Saturday and he had gotten Jeremy's itinerary from the mission office in Salt Lake. He said it was weird that we found out before he did. That should not have been the case. To tell you the truth, none of this felt normal and according the protocol.

June 6th, we got another email from Jeremy saying that his flights had been changed. I was relieved to see this because they had him flying out of Sao Paulo which is a 20-hour train/bus ride from Brasilia. Jeremy had caught the issue and gotten it fixed so he was flying out of Brasilia to Manaus to Miami to Chartlotte. That night was the "How to Survive a Zombie Apocaplyse" preparedness enrichment night. It was a blast, complete with zombie attack. We all listened and escaped to the safe place. I learned a lot about spiritual preparedness, which I really needed.

This is what Nick does when he is bored. He raids his sister's costume bucket.

This is what Naomi does when she gets bored. She paints on her leg.

While I was sitting on the boat launch at Mountain Island Lake while waiting for Nick to finish is cross country practice, I found this interesting place I wanted to find and explore - a lake overlook. That will be for another day.

June 7th we finished cleaning the carpets downstairs. We made all the fixins for Cafe Rio as well as two cheesecakes. It was a feast fit for a king. It also FINALLY rained. The ground needed a good soaking.

June 8th, JEREMY IS HOME!!! We picked him up at the airport and he looked a lot better than I thought he would considering all the ailments (physical, mental and emotional) he had been contending with for the last several weeks. There were a lot of hugs all around and we went in search of his luggage. His plane change in Miami had been a quick one so we weren't surprised to find that one of his luggage was still in Miami, but was scheduled to be put on the next flight to Charlotte. They gave us the information we would need to collect his bag when it did arrive. He was exhausted and hungry so we took him to Chick-fil-A before meeting President Page so Jeremy could be released as an Elder. They had a good talk and then President Page talked with us about what to expect now that Jeremy was home and how to help him transition. Our next stop was to the pool where Nick was working for the morning. He wasn't able to come to the airport to see Jeremy, so we took Jeremy to him. We then headed home so Jeremy could decompress a bit. He had not slept well for the last week in general and the last 48 hours in particular. We found out that he had slept on the kitchen table since the other 4 beds in the apartment were being taken up by the other 4 elders. The wear and tear of the last 3 months was starting to show and he told us the stories of how "He Who Must Not Be Named (HWMNBN)" had verbally and emotionally abused him and bullied him. Since HWMNBN was the senior companion and Jeremy's trainer, Jeremy did what he was told to do. He had been absolutely miserable and hadn't gotten anything out of that period of time. It wasn't until his transfer to Gama, where he met his new companions, that he realized what a mission was supposed to be like and that HWMNBN had really done some awful stuff that needed to be reported to the President. All of this resulted in the two of them getting sent home early.

Sister Cooper sent me this picture of Jeremy with President Cooper. She said Jeremy was a sweet boy. She wished him well and asked us to stay in touch.

Jeremy with President Page.

Nick lifeguarding at the pool. He hadn't seen Jeremy yet.

Jeremy carrying Naomi back to the truck after visiting with Nick. She really missed her oldest brother.

That night after picking up Jeremy's last bag at the airport, we had Cafe Rio for dinner and cheesecake for dessert and then crashed hard for the night.

The next morning Jeremy told us he had outgrown (both physically and emotionally) his loft bed. We started the transformation into the new and improved Jeremy room by visiting IKEA on the web and coming up with what he wanted his new room to look like.

June 9th, I went to a Kinesio Tape class. Kinesio Tape method is "a definitive rehabilitative taping technique that is designed to facilitate the body’s natural healing process while providing support and stability to muscles and joints without restricting the body’s range of motion. By targeting different receptors within the somatosensory system, Kinesio® Tex Tape alleviates pain and facilitates lymphatic drainage by microscopically lifting the skin. This lifting affect forms convolutions in the skin thus increasing interstitial space and allowing for a decrease in inflammation of the affected areas. https://kinesiotaping.com/about/what-is-the-kinesio-taping-method/ That is the long definition. The short definition is that it help you heal more quickly while providing stability during the healing process. I learned so much and had a great time practicing on the other ladies in the class. Most of the participants were mothers interesting in helping their athletes. I got to reconnect with Windy Sabin whom I haven't really seen since they split the ward years ago. It was a fun and productive morning. I loved learning how to use the tape to heal different parts of the body. I was especially interested in the shoulder (for Steve), the knee (for Nick) and the ankle (for Naomi).

Back at home, Jeremy had moved from designing his new room to cleaning out all the old stuff he didn't want to keep anymore. During this one-on-one time he told me the whole story and my heart absolutely broke for him after learning everything he went through. All I am going to say is don't ever let anyone make you feel like you are worthless. It can happen quickly or slowly (Jeremy compared it to the story of boiling a frog slowly - it was too late by the time he really saw what was going on). Be vigilant and speak up for yourself!!! He really went through a lot and has a long road of recovery ahead, but I am proud of him for having the integrity to go to President Cooper even though he knew he would have to face the consequences for his actions while with HWMNBN. It was more important to stop HWMNBN from doing this to other people. How can you not be proud of that?!!!??!!

June 10th I got to be a "gray coverage model" for a hair color class at Ashley's salon. It was totally fun. I got to meet some really amazing ladies while getting my roots done for free. Back at home we started the official re-do of Jeremy's room. We got his furniture moved to the center of the room and plastered all the holes in his walls. We also got the ceiling painted.

June 11th I got to spend the day at Carowinds with Naomi, Lucy, Ashley and Mia. We had so much fun going on the rides and goofing off. It was the perfect day. We ran into Dr. Kendrick (Naomi and Ashley's 7th grade math teacher). His son was off riding rides. He and I sat and talked while the girls were off on a ride I had no desire to try. My head was still reeling from the last right (which was totally worth it but I didn't want to press my luck). While we were at Carowinds having a blast, Nick and Jeremy went to see End Game. That night we took Jeremy's bed apart and delivered it to it's new home. Bishop Arias's son had wanted a loft bed ever since he saw Jeremy's. This is an example of a win-win situation.

Mia, Ashley, Naomi and Lucy. This is a fun group of girls.

Ashley is in South Carolina. Naomi is straddling the state line. Lucy and Mia are in North Carolina.

Naomi painted over the company logo on this fishing lure and it is now ready as a decoration for our "beach" bathroom.

We finally found some dress shirts that fit this boy! 15 1/2 neck and 37/38 arms. He is looking good.

June 11-14th was a whirlwind of sanding, painting and putting furniture together. We really wanted Jeremy to feel settled in a room that he felt comfortable in. During the chaos, Justin came to visit. It was fun to see the two childhood friends get back together after being separated for 7 months.

June 14th in order to let the trim have a chance to dry, we took a little bit of a break from all the bedroom excitement to get things ready for Father's Day. Since Steve would be leaving for his national conference on Father's Day we planned to celebrate a day early. We also baked cookies for both Autumn Todd's graduation party. We put Jeremy's bed together and bought new bedding to fit his queen-sized bed. He would finally be able to move from the air mattress (which was better than a kitchen table) to his own bed. Whew!!

June 15th, Jeremy went to play D&D with some other returned missionaries at the Cullard's house. We got Jeremy's old dresser, which was too big for his room, over to the Louchez's house since they needed a new dresser for one of their kids, another win-win situation. I helped at the Todd open house that afternoon and then we went to the Biang open house. Back at home it was a Father's Day steak barbeque and then to bed since Steve would be leaving early the next morning for his conference.

Jeremy is ready to retire the room sign he made when he was 3.

New paint and new furniture.

Steve made it to Nashville safely and got a good night's sleep before starting into a very hectic but fun week. The joke around our house is that someone always gets hurt when Dad is gone. Naomi had some fun with her makeup and we sent this picture to Steve. He thought it was real for a split second but then quickly remembered Naomi's skill with and love of gross make up.

It looks real!!

June 17th I got to volunteer in the LNC office during some math testing. I love spending time in the school and getting to know the staff better. I say it all the time, but I love their school. After I was done there we went to World Market to find some Brazilian food. Unfortunately, they did not have anything Brazilian, but the kids did find some cool Japanese foods they wanted to try. The rest of the day was spent getting some freezer meals made for a family who's dad was just diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. His first chemo session was tough on him and we wanted to make sure they didn't have to worry about things like meals.

June 18th NAOMI GOT HER BRACES OFF!! She was so excited!!!

Before...

After!

After the ortho I took Jeremy back up to CPCC to meet with his counselor so he could plan out the rest of his classes he needs for graduation. His counselor is only in on Thursdays and Fridays. We will have to come back again. We decided to head to Uptown Cheapskates. Jeremy needed some new clothing. Naomi and I had discovered Uptown Cheapskates shortly after Jeremy left on his mission. He loved it and found some really great deals. We went to lunch at Blaze Pizza and then home to chill.

June 19th I dropped Nick off at cross country practice and hurried home to get Jeremy to his foot doctor appointment. He had toenail surgery in Brazil to remove an in-grown toe nail, but it was still bothering his 2 1/2 weeks later so... I had to leave him at the doctor's office and go get Nick from cross country. When I got back, Jeremy was waiting outside the doctor's office with a big bandage on his toe. Jeremy said Dr. Garchar took one look at the nail and said, "They only removed half of the infected part of the nail." Jeremy also said that even though the shots really hurt (they had only used a numbing gel in Brasilia) it was nice to not feel anything else after that. The doctor also gave him a prescription for some antibiotics to help get rid of the infection. After dropping Nick off at home we went back to CPCC to talk with Jeremy's counselor. He only needs 18 credit hours to graduate with his associate's degree. He is going to split that up into two semesters which means that Naomi will "graduate" from middle school, Nick will graduate from high school and seminary and Jeremy will graduate from college all in the same year.

I also got to spend some time with my friend, Julie. We planned to get together the following day to make macarons for her daughter's missionary homecoming. I rushed home for dinner and then took the kids to the church for youth activities.

June 20th was a fun day. Jeremy, Naomi and I went to the Todd's house to make macarons. We had found a recipe that looked good and got great reviews. We gave it a try and our first attempt at macarons was a success.

Not bad for our first attempt!

That night we drove to the airport, through a really scary rain/wind storm, to welcome Audrey Todd home from her mission. The storm had caused her flight to be rerouted to Greensboro to wait out the storm. It was okay. We had a good time talking and laughing through the 2-hour delay. Audrey really likes stuffed animals so Julie had found a huge stuffed bear that they took the stuffing out of. Autumn fit inside of it!! Zach was holding the "stuffed" bear when Audrey came down the stairs. He told her they had gotten her a big bear to welcome her home. When she went to take it from him, Autumn gave her a big hug. She was caught between surprise and exhaustion, so her surprise was a little subdued, but it was a fun moment.

Audrey's welcome home crew!

After the airport adventure we came back home. The kids wanted to settle for the night but I was restless and had some Kohl's cash that was about to expire. I found two shirts and two pairs of pants. With my 25% discount and the Kohl's cash my total came to $0. I was so proud of it and was bragging to the kids at home that I got 2 pants and 2 shirts for $0 when I realized that the item count on the receipt said "3". I went back to Kohl's and paid for the shirt that hadn't made it on the receipt. It was only $6, and I could have easily just let it go, but I would never have been able to wear that shirt knowing I hadn't paid for it. Also, it taught my kids to be honest in everything.

June 21 I got to go to lunch with Sandra. We had a lot to catch up on. We dropped lunch off to Nick and then dropped Naomi and Jeremy off at the mall so Jeremy could look for a job and then headed to the Chicken Salad Chick for lunch. I miss talking to Sandra more. She is so much fun and I love hanging out with her. She puts everything into perspective and makes life better. Everyone should have a friend like her. After lunch we picked up the kids from the mall and I dropped Sandra off with a promise to come back with the truck later that night and help her get her couch home from the store. When Steve got back with the truck later that night we went with Sandra to get the couch. She is doing some remodeling in her kitchen and backyard. I always love to see what she is working on. Back at home Nick and I made a batch of beignets. They didn't last long. YUM!!!

Naomi has been creating more works of art.

This is one of her favorites!

June 22 we pulled weeds all morning and then went to play at the pool for a few hours in the early afternoon. Naomi and I went to the Todd's to help make crepes for Audrey's openhouse while the boys took a bunch of stuff to the dump. We finally finished Jeremy's room.

June 23 President Page stopped by the house after church to tell us that he had gotten a letter from the General Authorities that Jeremy can consider his mission service fulfilled. Jeremy was relieved to hear that because he wasn't sure if he could face going back out after what he had been through. He could now plan his future course knowing he was done with that portion. He made the family Brazilian stroganoff for dinner. It was really delicious. I drove Nick to Cornelius where he was covering a pool for another lifeguard and then hurried back to the Todd's to help get the open house set up and running. Steve and Jeremy helped a friend who was moving get their couch to a friend's house before they joined us at the open house. It was a busy day.

June 24 a nice young man came to the door asking if there were any home repairs that needed to be done. His company was working in the area replacing windows and siding and... I was about to say "No thank you" when something told me to ask about replacing the bathroom window. Long story short, they came out that night and quoted us for a new window and sliding glass door (both of which leak in a rainstorm) for just the right price. We are finally getting those two issues taken care of. The guy that came to give us the quote was really nice and did a great job with giving us the information. Since he had to stay and write up the paperwork, he had dinner with us and we got to know him better. His name is Steve. He and his wife moved to Charlotte about two months ago when the company (Power) opened here. We talked about all the fun things to do with kids in the area. By the time he left he was like an old friend.

June 25 I got to drive a group of girls to girl's camp. I always love spending time with the young women. They are very entertaining.

University City Young Women

This year camp was being held in Bennetsville, SC, which is only an hour and a half from Charlotte (compared to the 4.5 hour drive last year). The girls were staying at a camp with cabins and a pool and a mess hall and.... I love that the leaders will get to concentrate more on the girls and less on the logistics of feeding and sheltering and entertaining everyone. Naomi had invited Bella to come with her this year and Bella was really excited to spend time with all the young women.

Bella and Ashley by their bunks.

Naomi in her room.

Their cabin.

As I drove home I was already excited to hear how the week went. The camp was amazing and there would be so much to see and do. They were full of stories and fun when they got back. I heard about all the shenanigans and the spiritual moments. They had such a good time. Bella already wants to go back next year.

The following pictures I found on the stake Facebook page.

One of the many games they played. Naomi is the one reacting to the girl in the middle of the circle.

Skit night!!

craft time.

While the girls were at camp we had our own adventures at home. Steve, the boys and I were going to the mall to have a fun night of exploring when we got a call from Adam Ball saying he was out of town and Misty was stranded in South Charlotte with a really flat tire. We took the boys back home so they could have the truck to take to the mall and we went off to help Misty. This wouldn't have been such an issue, but for some reason, her mechanic had forgotten to put the spare back the last time she was in and so she didn't have a spare. On the way down we came up with a plan to get her tire fixed which was no easy thing because most tire repair stores closed at 6 and it was 6:30. Costco to the rescue!! They were open until 7:30 which gave us plenty of time to get to Misty, get the tire off, and get to Costco before they closed. Thank goodness for Costco!!!

June 26th I found that cool overlook at Mountain Island Lake. It is called Buzzard Rock and it is not a long hike to get there either. The view was just as stunning as I imagined it would be.

Buzzard Rock!

The view was worth the wait.

Proof that I was really there.

Steve took Jeremy up to the Books A Million at the Carolina Place Mall after work because the other store was really giving him the run-around about hiring him back. They were in the middle of inventory and didn't have time to see him. Jeremy came back ecstatic because he had an informal interview with one of the assistant managers who really liked him and wanted to hire him pending approval from the higher ups - which unfortunately was one of the people doing inventory at the other store. We are back to waiting.

June 27 Nick and I mowed the neighbor's lawn for them while they were out of town and I got to go hang with Lynne Reinstadler while hemming some curtains with her. She is always fun to talk to. Her house is right on Lake Norman and the view was very relaxing.

June 28 Nick and I took a trip to the RC store to get more spare parts so he could finally fix his RC car. He was so excited to get it running so he could show Jeremy. When we got back to the house Jeremy was just leaving to go work out with Justin. Chance called right after that and invited Nick to go roller skating. Steve and I had a date night!! We went to Red Lobster for dinner and then walked around the mall to walk off dinner. It was fun to have no pressure of running the kids to their various activities. It was a nice night.

June 30 we hung out with the Balls. Adam was telling us about how his feet had been really hurting the last little while because he had been on his feet so much for work. I got out my KinesioTape and taped his feet for him. He was skeptical at first, but was soon a believer when is feet started tingling and the pain went away.

WHEW!!! It was a busy month, but we had a lot of fun. Stay tuned for the July version of the blog which is sure to have some good stuff as well. Below are the last pictures from Jeremy's mission. This time he is here to help describe each picture. I have names and events for you!!

Jeremy's last batch of missionary pictures

He really loved his new companion and roomies and was sad to have to leave them. They made the last 8 weeks of his mission the best. He will always remember them fondly.