Eight Days a Week Day 139-146

So sorry this is a day late. We don't have internet in Seagraves yet and since it was a three day weekend, I had to wait until I was back in Midland to post. This is my last week in Midland! Aaron is coming down Thursday night and the men are moving the rest of the stuff while I am at work. In case you were wondering, I have not had to lift a finger throughout this entire move. It was a lot of hard work.

Day 139



This picture sums up my day. One of my students decided she wanted to see who was going to be the most stubborn. I hate those games. First, she refused to do a puzzle we gave her so we told her she had to finish the puzzle before she could eat lunch. Second, it was a fight to get her to sit in her chair to eat her lunch. Third, once she sat down, she immediately threw her entire meal on the floor. Fourth, I had to nag for a solid twenty minutes for her to pick up all of her rice and sauce-covered chicken. Fifth, her routine is to go to her chair to and grab a trinket for her reward for doing well at lunch. Obviously she didn't do well so I had her go to her chair but not receive any trinkets. She kept trying to scoot her chair around so I held it down with my feet. She responded by grabbing my stomach and then knocking over boxes of pencils and math counters. Sixth, I spent another twenty minutes nagging her to pick up all of those pencils.

Day 140



It was Lucy's day to get neutered. When I picked her up, she was being held by one of the staff. I was under the impression that various staff were fighting to hold her. She did very well and everyone was so impressed with how beautiful she is. She didn't need a "cone of shame" but I put a T-shirt on her the first night to keep her from licking her wounds.

Day 141



The PTA has been providing snacks and food all this week for all the teachers and staff. They have been so supportive this year.

Day 142



I got this view on my way to Seagraves in one town. I don't mind getting stuck behind tractors. In my opinion, no one is a harder worker than farmers.

Day 143



Aaron and I spent a lot of the day cleaning/ decorating the inside and watering/ fertilizing/ mowing the outside. I am guessing at this whole 'taking care of a lawn' thing.

Day 144



Today, Arrested Development came out on Netflix. Because we don't have internet yet, we watched it on our phones. When we got sick of looking at our phones, we watched The Office DVDs. Obviously we live a tough life.


Day 145




Whenever Lucy wasn't running around in the sprinkler, she was barking at it. For hours. I am sure the neighbors love us.


Day 146




Today I went shopping for stuff for the home. Clearly I am in a colorful mood.

Clever Title that Catches Reader's Attention (133-139)

Day 133



Today was the junior high and high school Life Skill's prom thrown together by Lee High School's philanthropy class. The four kids who showed up looked beautiful and I was so excited they had this opportunity.

Day 134



These creepy eyes were staring at me as I was "powdering my nose." I decided that I no longer want to visit the ladies room at "Smiling Moose."

Day 135



A lot of our kids have grown up together, being in the same Life Skills class in elementary school so it is really cool seeing the relationships that develop. The higher functioning kids are huge helps to the low functioning. Sometimes the kids listen better to them than the teachers.

Day 136



It was one of our kid's birthdays and she is obsessed with Justin Beiber. I was thinking it would be a "no problem" trip going to Wal-Mart. I had to walk around Wal-Mart several times and of course you can't ask anyone who works there. I finally found a watch. She already had a Beiber watch but I figured she could start a collection or just be happy she got something with the YouTube sensation on it.

Day 137



Every time Aaron and I go shopping we always laugh at the organization of items at the grocery store.

Day 138



I woke up this morning to seeing that our church announced on Facebook that they were going to give us a pounding. Aaron definitely had to explain that to me. It is basically where people buy you a bunch of groceries. Our cabinets are now filled with every type of food you could fit in a can, a life-time supply of paper towels and cleaning products, and a lot of gift cards and money. This is a church who loves to serve and is very loving. Aaron and I are very blessed to be here.

Day 139

I don't have a picture. I use my phone to take pictures of things and I spent two hours of my day on hold. Pretend there is a picture of a phone. I thought about photoshopping my head onto the Hulk but the grumpy cat within me said:

Root, Root, Root for the Other Guys (126-132)

Day 126



The Rockhounds, local baseball team of Midland who is affiliated with the As, was hosting a "safety and game day" for schools around the Midland area. They were playing the Riders (affiliated with the Rangers) so I promised Aaron I would go against baseball's anthem and root for the non-home team. The kids had a great time and the only people to get sunburns were the teachers. Who knew that taking a Scotch-Irish girl into the sun would her into a lobster?

Day 127



Someone wrote 'Jesus loves you!' on the chalkboard in the classroom I teach preschool choir. It reminds me of when I was in elementary school we had to be sat down and told that although they really like us spreading the word of the gospel, bathroom graffiti is not the way they want us to accomplish it. "Christian school problems."

Day 128



We took the kids to the driving range along with the high school Life Skills class our students will eventually go to. The kids loved meeting their future teachers and they got along well with the older kids. Only one kid got hit with a ball and no one used the clubs as weapons so all in all I would say it was a good day.

Day 129



Lucy decided to bring me an early "mother's* day" present. Awww?

Day 130



Today was a work day at the church. A group of about ten of us planted this garden in the morning. It was really neat seeing all the "tricks" some of the farmers used. For example, they put watered down glue over the mulch to prevent the wind from blowing it away. I am definitely going to have to ask for help once I get around to planting a garden at my house so it can survive the West Texas climate.

Day 131



Today was baby dedication for three little ones. I am sure the pastor had a fun time looking at the congregation as we made faces at the babies sitting on the front row. Before that the pastor had the children pass out carnations to all the moms. One little girl tried to hand one to me but Aaron whispered (yelled) that I am not a mom so I got jipped of a flower. I still appreciate flowers.

Day 132



The Midland Children's Rehab Center threw a dance recital and one of my students was in the jungle-themed show. I was planning on just being a supportive audience member but that turned into being a volunteer to help change and manage the children. I did manage to sneak off to watch the numbers my kid was in.


*I really don't think I am a mother because I own a dog.

Send in the Clowns (Day 119-125)

As I have talked about in previous posts, Aaron has already moved out to Seagraves and I will move out there once school lets out. I got to go up there this weekend and it was extremely difficult to leave but it is just four more weeks. I can do this.

Day 119



The kitty decided to help me pack by checking various box sizes. Surprisingly, that didn't help me as much as he thought it would.

Day 120

Well, I failed to take a picture of my car full of clothes Aaron failed to bring with him.

Day 121



Our school threw a talent show/ carnival as motivation for the kids for the fifth sixth weeks. I am sorry that this is the best picture I could put on here but I couldn't take a picture of the actual carnival because it would be illegal for me to put any pictures of students on here. My kids had so much fun, even the ones who have a hard time in large crowds.

Day 122



My family greeted me as I finally made it to my "weekend home" in Seagraves.

Day 123



We had a great day of sleeping in, taking walks around different parks, and casually unpacking. It is starting to come together and it is so exciting knowing we are going to be here for a while, like our future children will live in this house! Weird

Day 124



After officially joining FBC Seagraves, Aaron and I celebrated by eating some of my famous ribs. This is him in his newly decorated office! Doesn't he look right at home? I had to say "good-bye" and head back to Midland. It was extremely difficult, and I am not referring to when I got lost.

Day 125



Speaking of getting lost, I had to call Aaron for directions on how to turn on the grill. It ended up not being as intimidating as I thought. Of course my in-laws ended up not coming home because they had a surprise banquet. Maybe I will be a able to show off my newly found grill skills some other time.