November 2015

November 1st we woke up to another flood in the kitchen.  This time it was the freezer that had stopped working and had thawed all over the floor.  We were really getting to know the appliance guys at Lowe's and Home Depot.  I think we need a frequent purchase card.  For every five appliances purchased you get 50% off.  SERIOUSLY!!!!!  At church that day, I was asked to do all the costumes for the upcoming ward Night in Bethlehem.  I would have been flattered had I not been so overwhelmed with everything else that was going on.  Thank goodness Vickie Beachum found me and offered all the costumes her ward had used a few years back when they did their Night in Bethlehem.  The Lord will not ask us to do something without providing a way that we can get it done.  On the bright side, Naomi is now in the lottery for Lake Norman Charter!!!!

Jeremy and Steve getting rid of our old fridge and moving in the new one.  Thank goodness one of our ward members had a truck we could use to get it home.  We didn't trust our truck, with the bent bed, to carry something that heavy for that distance.  Yes, we are still waiting to hear from State Farm!!!

November 2nd we finally heard back from State Farm when the last message involved the phrase "our lawyer will be in contact with you if we do not hear from you in the next 24 hours."  At this point it was 14 days since the accident.  I also told them that I needed a rental car as I felt the truck was unsafe to drive any longer.  I thought this would all be taken care of within 7-10 days.  A new adjuster, Beth, called us back within 3 hours of the lawyer message.  She apologized for the other adjuster not calling us back.  We were working on a deal within the next day and finally found out they were officially going to total the truck and give us a very generous pay out on the old truck.  They would pay off the old truck and we had enough left over to have a good size down payment towards a new vehicle.  I also had a rental car within a couple of hours but only for four days so we had to find a replacement quickly.  The payout and papers arrived at a local State Farm office within 24 hours and we felt we were finally on our way to putting this all behind us.

We spent the 3rd and the 4th looking for trucks.  After driving every make and model of truck out there we decided to go with another Nissan Titan.  The other trucks just didn't feel right or were WAY out of what we wanted to spend.  We were lucky enough to find three Titans that would work.  With the help of our amazing mechanic, Todd, we narrowed it down to the one we finally bought.

Meet Tyrone "Duke" Cannon.  Isn't he handsome?!?

I love this sign.  This was in the mechanics pit while they were checking out Tyrone!

November 6th I stayed home all day waiting for the tow truck to come and take my wonderful, old truck away.  Because I was stuck at home until the tow truck came I had a lot of time to get things done.  One of which was to call the bank and make sure the payoff had occurred.  After a long day on the phone, I found out that the check had not arrived because State Farm had sent it to the wrong address with the wrong account number. We had to stop payment on that check and reissue another one.   I was doubly frustrated because it also meant we would be making the truck payment for the month of November.  Also, the tow truck never showed.

November 7th  Steve took the truck to Nissan to make sure everything was in order.  We already knew there was a tire issue, but the dealership who sold us the truck agreed to pay for a new tire.  We also needed to fix the brakes, which wasn't terrible because we had the money set aside to put new brakes on the old truck.  Nick was in heaven because the mechanic let him watch the whole process.

Meanwhile, back at home, Naomi's soccer game got rained out AGAIN!  (This ended up being the rainiest November on record by the end of the month)  Neither one of us was too upset.  It made the day a little less hectic.  I took her to the mall to Anusha's party (which was moved inside due to the rain).  Naomi got to go to Build A Bear and have ice cream before Steve picked her up and brought her to Frye's Roller Rink for her own party.   All year she had been talking about her party at the roller rink and now it was finally here.  She was so excited to get to be with her friends in one of her favorite places.  It was worth the wait.  We all had so much fun.

In the party room having cake and ice cream.

Back row (left to right): Ava, Haylie, Ashley, Anusha, Rachel, Naomi and Mia.
Front row (left to right):  Maggie and Bella

Skating like a pro.

Monday the 9th, both Steve and I had to work so we had to leave the truck out front with the keys hidden for the tow truck driver.  When we got home it was gone.  Maybe it was a good thing I wasn't there to watch them haul it away.  I really loved that truck.

Tuesday the 10th we found out the loan was paid off.  To celebrate we had shrimp for dinner and then went to Naomi's final soccer game.  They were in the championship game and so excited.  Once again, they played with all their might, but they got outplayed and ended up losing the final game.  After being sad for a little bit and a wonderful pep talk from Coach Russ, they bounced back and realized what an amazing team they were.  Paige's parents had purchased medals for the girls and they also got their trophies from Strikers.  It was all smiles after that.

Naomi and the crew just starting to smile again.

Getting her trophy.

Naomi and Maggie with their trophies

The most amazing team.  

November 11th was Young Women in Excellence.  Our new presidency put it all together in a short amount of time and it all turned out great.

November 12th Steve and I took the truck to have the bed liner sprayed in.  Now the truck was ready for scouting and hauling and....   I ran dinner into a family whose mother had recently had surgery.  Naomi found out she was going to be Kaa #6 in "The Jungle Book" at school.  Steve had another scout come over to finish up his Eagle paperwork in time to present it to the council the following night.  We had dinner and Naomi opened her presents a day early since Steve was in charge of the Outdoor Leadership Skills (OLS) class over the weekend.

November 13th Naomi turned 10!!!  Steve left for OLS in the morning and we had stroganoff for dinner that night.  Naomi also wanted to go to Lake Norman Charter's production of "Over the River".

Saturday the 14th I ran the boys to the church first thing in the morning.  The Young Men were going on a day trip to Atlanta to attend the temple and to see Coke World.  Naomi and I spent the day doing stuff at home.  When the boys got home they were full of stories about the trip.  They really had a great time.

All the young men in front of the temple.  

November 16th I got to be the substitute for Mrs. Rogowski in the library.  WooWhooo!  On the 17th I subbed for Mrs. Rowan, Naomi's teacher.  It was a really interesting glimpse into Naomi's day.  When I told her I was going to be the substitute for the day she was not as excited as I thought she would be.  I asked her why and she said, "Mom, my class is horrible and I don't want you to see how horrible they are."  I am sorry to say she was not exaggerating a whole lot.  I am even more excited for her to be at Lake Norman Charter School next year.   

SHOCK ALERT!!   November 19th, while subbing at the high school, I found out that Jeremy had a girlfriend.  I was walking out of the tech suite after lunch on my way to my next class when I saw Jeremy heading to his next class after his lunch.  I started to follow him so I could say "Hi" when I noticed he was holding hands with a girl.  I was so shocked I stopped walking and almost got run over by all the students in the hall trying to get to class on time.  As soon as I got to my class I texted Steve and he was just as shocked as I was.  I could hardly wait until after school to get some answers from Jeremy.  He was very laid back about it when I asked him.  Her name is Khristen and they have been an item for a couple of weeks.  He didn't want to tell me because he thought I would freak out.  Thank goodness I had been calming myself down for three periods before I asked him.  He promised to introduce me next time I subbed.  I did get to meet her that Friday.  She is really cute and he smiles a lot when she is around.  I think I am going to really like her.  

Somewhere between here and Thanksgiving we found out that the loan on the truck was not really paid off.  The bank had found the first check, the one that had been cancelled, and applied it to our account.  Once they realized the error, they reversed everything back to "unpaid".  The other check was never found.  State Farm issued a third check.  Let's hope this is the one.  I don't want to make another payment on a truck that I no longer own.  The bank did assure me that any over payment due this "issue" would be reimbursed to us once it was all resolved.  That was good news.   

Our new plates came in right before we were going to leave for Knoxville.  Steve picked them up and went to the NC plates office to get our sticker so we would be official.  He found out that we might be receiving a fine from the state because state law says the insurance company has to file a "totaled vehicle" claim with the state within 10 days of the accident.  State Farm hadn't done that.  The claim was filed on the 14th day.  This may explain the generous payout.  They knew they were not in compliance with the law and compensated us for it before we knew about it.  In the end, the state waived the fine because we had documented proof from our insurance company that we had done everything required of us in the proper time frame.  Just one more hiccup in the chain of events.  Oh, the letters on the plate are DKE which is where the truck got his middle name of  Duke.  Also, this is the name Jeremy desperately wanted to give Nicholas.  It just fits with our family.  

November 25th we headed out for Knoxville to spent Thanksgiving with Bradden, Sunny, the kids and Grandma Cannon.  Steve had some things being held at our favorite store.  This place had become a tradition for us.  There is also a Coleman outlet just across the parking lot.  Our coolers, which we got for our wedding, were starting to show their age.  It was time for a new one.  Nick and I went to the Coleman store to check it out while Steve, Jeremy and Naomi picked up the knives.  Last time we stopped I wouldn't let Steve buy a new cooler because they were still really expensive.  This time, with all the pre-Christmas sales, it was a completely different story.  We got the perfect cooler for only $30.  They also disposed of the old one for us.

Nick really "got into" shopping for a new cooler. 

Once in Knoxville, I helped Sunny finish up the last bit of grocery shopping.  We also got a call from the bank saying the third check had arrived (they verified it with State Farm) and it was applied to our account.  As per bank policy (and very understandable based on the past two weeks' experiences), they had to hold the check for 10 days to make sure the funds were valid, but they would apply it to our account so we would not have to make another payment.  We were unofficially paid off.  YEA!!!!  We had pizza for dinner and went to bed early to be ready for the next day.

Thanksgiving we fixed food all day long.  It was an excellent dinner.  Grandma's banana cream pie was my absolute favorite.  After all the dishes were done and dinner put away, Steve and Bradden decided to do a little shopping that night.  They had so much fun last year they decided to start a little earlier this year. While the boys shopped, I watched the Panthers game.  It was amazing.  We played the Cowboys and the game did not disappoint.  Early in the game, Romo threw an interception that was caught by Keuchly and run in for a touchdown!!   It was a good game and we are still undefeated for the season.  11-0.  Keep pounding!!! I kept the boys updated via text.   After shopping, all the boys went to see the new James Bond movie.  It was a great day.

Cousin time.  They have all been looking forward to this. 

More goofing off. 

In all the chaos, Jeremy needed to get a book read for AP English.  He found a quiet spot in the pantry.  

November 27th, Steve, Jeremy and Bradden got up early and did the morning shopping run.  They had a great time and came back with their treasures.  Steve wanted a new Christmas tree this year and found the one he wanted.  Bradden got some things for Sunny and the kids.  They were smiling and had stories to tell about the crowds and all the chaos.  They loved it.  After lunch, Sunny, Jeremy and me went to see the last Hunger Games movie.  It was awesome.  Back at the ranch, we lit a fire in the fire pit and roasted some marshmallows.  I was a great way to wind down from the day.

Chillin' by the fire. 

Steve and his mom

Hyrum, Nick and Naomi

Grandma and Nick

Birthday cousins having some tea together.

November 28th we woke up, packed up and headed home.  We stopped in Sevierville again to visit the Lodge store this time.  Katrina's family wanted some Lodge stuff for camping and this was the perfect time to get it done.  We also stopped at Wild Wings for lunch before the long ride home.  There was a different football game on each screen and everyone was cheering on a different game.  It was fun.  Tyrone was amazing on the drive.  He got 19.4 MPG going back over the mountain, fully loaded.  We also found a quiet back road that helped us avoid the chaos on I-77 at Lake Norman.  

November 29th, while attempting to load all the photos from Thanksgiving onto my external hard drive I found out that the drive was dying.  Steve helped me get all our photos off that drive before it completely died.  Thank goodness we got it all in time.  We went out the very next day and got a replacement drive.  Our family history is safe once again.

November 30th, Jeremy finished writing his novel for the NANOWRIMO (National November Writers Month) contest.  Once he submitted it, he received an email saying he was a winner.  We ordered him a t-shirt and he got all sorts of prizes and discounts to be used at places only writers would appreciate.  He was so excited and proud of himself for completing this challange.  Way to go, Jeremy.