Muddy Paws and Tomato Colored Faces (218-224)

Day 218



Lucy decided to take advantage of the rainy day and bathe herself in mud. There was even enough to coat my floors. She is so considerate.

Day 219



Our pastor and another man from our church went up to Moore, Oklahoma for a week to help clean up some debris, so Aaron was put in charge of Wednesday night prayer meeting, which included preaching and leading the prayer.

Day 220



We had a ladies luncheon at the church along with a surprise baby shower for one of the ladies that regularly comes. The baby was born in early July and he was precious. Last time I picked up a baby Aaron told me to "put that thing back." I think he is worried about me getting "baby fever."

Day 221

Ugh. I was lame and didn't take a picture.

Day 222



Aaron and I went to Lubbock to buy some teacher supplies. We also got Aaron an early birthday present (Xbox 360) and some other "home accessories" to finish decorating the master bedroom. It is officially my favorite room in the house! I love it! Actually, half of my decorations come from Dollar General,so it was nice to splurge and get a phone from Garden Ridge and the runner and lantern from Pier One.

Day 223



On our way to church, the sound guy called Aaron and told him he wouldn't be there so I got a crash course in running a sound board. Because Aaron asked the youth minister to run the words on the screen, I gave up my new-found talent so she and her new husband (who also knows how to run the sound) could sit together.

Day 224



Today was the first day of in-service. It was in the high-school cafeteria and included all the teachers. It definitely was appropriate being in the cafeteria because no matter how old you get, it is always hard being the new teacher. Especially if it is your first year of teaching. There was a kind teacher who let me pretend that we were having an intense conversation while I was waiting for my co-teacher to figure out where I was supposed to be sitting. I wonder if people know that they give me the same exact look whenever I tell them this is my first year. The look that says "you have no idea what you are getting yourself into," or "I wonder how long she'll last." While trying to give off that confidence vibe, I dropped a tomato on my dress. Oh boy,the overwhelming feeling strikes again.

Fruit Snacks are the Start of a Beautiful Friendship (204-217)

This post is going to include two weeks. Our internet wasn't working last Monday and we were on vacation the rest of the week.

Day 204



Where would we be without Pinterest? I spent all of today planning a "Christmas in August" party for our church choir. Date still pending.

Day 205



Our front room has been such an eye sore. I have always tried to have the door closed anytime guests are over because we hadn't gotten to organizing that room yet. It was a lot of work but I turned the "junk drawer" room into a man cave for Aaron. We have changed the room since this picture: the zebra print shelf was moved to my craft room (see day 206), Aaron added a TV and a PS2, and the shelf I put up fell. That was frustrating. I spent forever trying for find the studs and it didn't matter. I am anti-shelves now.

Day 206

Still being in the decorating spirit, I tackled the last eye-sore of the house: our second guest bedroom. I put most of the things that were occupying the room, old toys both sets of parents made us take, and put them in the closet. There was a table in our shed so I set that up and voila! A craft room.

Day 207



Our youth minister was having a bridal shower Sunday, so Aaron and I drove up to Lubbock to get her a gift. Bed Bath and Beyond makes you wrap your own presents at their gift wrap station. That is a lot of pressure to wrap a wedding present. Here is my attempt.

Day 208



We took Lucy on a walk at the appropriately named "Walking Park." I will always associate that park with the day Aaron and I were waiting to be voted on by the church for Aaron's position as music minister.

Day 209



Today was a busy day. After church, we had the bridal shower for our youth minister and then we went to First Baptist in Seminole to hear a former Mormon talk to us about the religion and how to witness to them.



Day 210



Although we haven't received a bill or account number, our internet service provider decided to punish us for not paying our bill by canceling the internet, so I took a lot of Lucy pictures.

Day 211



Aaron and I FINALLY got an opportunity to go to Austin to meet my brand new baby niece!



Before that, we stopped in Abilene to see my friend, Kayla. I needed to give back books I borrowed to study for my certification exams and I gave her a birthday present that consisted of a Dawson's Creek book, patriotic bracelets, and a slushy maker. Lucy and Lily, Kayla's baby, had fun playing together. Lily was a trooper for putting up with Lucy's tail constantly wagging in her face.

Day 212



Aaron and I waited three hours to eat what Texas Monthly named the number one barbecue in Texas. Franklin's used to be a food trailer service, but just recently moved into a building. We rented chairs from a smart entrepreneur and only got a little sunburned while talking to tourists around us.

Day 213



After having hip replacement surgery over a month ago, my mother decided to brave the caves of Georgetown with me, Aaron, and my niece, Elizabeth. This very outgoing girl from New Jersey befriended Elizabeth while we were waiting for our tour to start. She sealed the deal by providing fruit snacks. They held hands the whole time and New Jersey helped Elizabeth be brave, even if she scared her at first by talking about spiders and bats. At the end of the tour, they declared themselves to be best friends. Elizabeth can't remember her name. It either starts with an 'e' or an 'm'.

Day 214



The day consisted of us hanging out with Aaron's best man before he had to go to work, going through my mom's storage to find Christmas decorations to borrow for the party coming up, and hanging out with Elizabeth in the afternoon. My mom is required to carry a cane with her in public so no one will run into her due to her new hip. Elizabeth uses it to pull my mom places.

Day 215



After traveling all day to get back to Seagraves from Austin, I decided to move some things around in the kitchen. I removed the cabinet doors above the stove to make it a display shelf for all of my lunch boxes. I also moved my microwave to a cabinet. I have so much more space now. Aaron is such a trooper for my constant home-improvement ideas.

Day 216



We had such a fun time in Austin playing tourists; however, we needed a vacation from our vacation, puppy included.

Day 217



My co-teacher and I met up today to organize our room. This is the before, I didn't take the after mainly because we have a lot still to do. I am excited, nervous, and anxious about this school year starting. Our class is going to consist of 50 students, 2 teachers, and 1 teacher assistant. Let the games begin!


Oh, and here is one more picture of my newest niece, Roxie:

Amish Terrarium (197-203)

Sorry for the late blog post!

Day 197



Anytime I think of contracts, I think of those you see in the cartoons with the endless pages and small print you would need a powerful microscope to read. Well I signed mine today and it was only four pages. If there was any small print, I missed it. I did forget to bring my microscope so who knows what hidden assignments I may have signed up for.

Day 198



We found a caterpillar in the house! I had all these plans to provide him a habitat so we could watch him transform into a beautiful butterfly. Unfortunately, shortly after this picture was taken, he was poisoned from the chemicals the exterminator used to keep out vermin.


Day 199



It was parents night for VBS which included the kids showing off the songs they learned and Frito pie. The pastor's son, who plays for the Chicago Bears, came up to talk to the kids and sign autographs.

Day 200



After having our last bible story time at VBS, the kids had a carnival. This was the one day I got through the lesson before time was up so the kids helped me take down all the decorations. They were really excited because I let them take the decorations home. Maybe looking at a streamer will help them remember the "ABCs of Christianity."

Day 201



I am giving you this action-packed photo because the other picture would have been of me and Aaron napping most of the day. We definitely needed a rest day because VBS can take it out of you. We did end up watching two horror movie spoofs. I have now caught the bug and am looking for more of those movies.

Day 202



I know this sounds silly, but I am really jealous of Aaron's lawn mowing ability. It's like an art when he does it. I actually really like mowing the lawn but He has been doing it a lot longer than me. My dad had a riding lawn mower and didn't trust me with it.

Day 203



I was so impressed with Aaron working so hard last week for VBS I wanted to give him a surprise. I found a way to make a homemade iPhone projector so I had planned to have us camp out in the backyard and watch movies. Unfortunately the projector isn't powerful enough for outside so we just watched a movie on my phone and played "The Office Trivia Game." That's my excuse for not having this blog up on time. By the time we finished the game, it was way late and Aaron needed to go to work in the morning.

Tour de Seagraves (190-196)

Almost forgot to put this blog out today!

Day 190



One of our church members hitched a ride with us while we drove to Lubbock. Aaron needed to go to Lifeway to look at Christmas musicals. It was also a good excuse for us to go up there for my birthday. I forgot to take a picture of my present, so here it is via a Wal-Mart picture:



Day 191



I decorated my room for VBS. The theme is "Colossal Coaster World." I am not really sure I captured that in my decoration, but at least it's colorful.

Day 192



We had another "women of faith" potluck lunch at church. As was the case today, it is rare for Baptist women to get together and not discuss or watch a clip about Beth Moore.

Day 193



I was not feeling well. I had a killer migraine, didn't have an appetite, and had an asthma attack. I made use of one our guest rooms, which is the darkest room in the house, and slept the whole day.

Day 194



We finally did some much needed shopping for groceries in Seminole. It is almost always guaranteed the majority of the people shopping there are Mennonites. To be honest, I don't really know much about them, except they are Christian,hard workers, and speak old German. I have been really interested in learning more, but Aaron won't let me go up to one randomly and ask about it. Apparently, that's odd.

Day 195



While looking at a map, Aaron discovered that there is a lake really close to us. After church we loaded the dog and headed up there. Unfortunately, it's only open on the weekdays, so we decided just to go to a park in Seagraves and picnic there.

Day 196



Today was our first day of VBS and I ended up with 19 third and fourth graders. Some of my kiddos at VBS are going to be in my class whenever school starts. I haven't told them, just so I don't have to act so "teachery" while I am at church, but I have tried to discreetly figure out who is going to be in my class.

Two Pennyworth of Beautiful Soup(182-188)

Stacks of cards, six practice tests, over a thousand pages studied, countless study sessions, and a supportive husband have lead to passing two tests that stood in the way of me becoming a certified teacher. I put a lot of pressure on myself by waiting until I got hired to even take the tests. I put even more pressure on myself for scheduling the tests one week apart from each other. I found the results for the PPR two days after taking it but it took five days to find out about the Generalist. I think this is because I took the Generalist July 3rd and everyone was on holiday. The pressure of the tests is finally over and I actually uttered the words "I should go shopping for groceries but I think I am just going to watch TV all day."

Day 182



Today, one of my eggs exploded while I was hard-boiling them. I named it Repunzel.



Aaron also serenaded the whole town of Seagraves while I was grilling outside.

Day 183



After taking the generalist, I went to Lowes to get some flowers for my garden. I think they turned out pretty great!

Day 184



Every year, Hardin-Simmons' Cowboy Band plays at Stamford fair and rodeo. Alumni and incoming freshmen are invited to play, so it is a great way to keep the traditions of the CBB alive. I enjoy going because I love rodeos.

Day 185



Today we played tourist in Abilene by going to the zoo and Prime Time, which is a family entertainment center. Both Aaron and I used to work at Prime Time so it was weird going back as customers. We also got to meet up with one of my best friends from college and her baby, Lily.

Day 186



Aaron's grandparents live close to Abilene so we usually stay with them when we are in town. Aaron's grandfather is a retired farmer, so we usually end up with an abundance of vegetables. Today's collection included peppers, corn, and onions. We also got a chance to see my in-laws new house that should be finished within a couple of weeks.

Day 187



Aaron had his first major program as a music minister. The music focused on worship songs composed by Americans. It turned out really well and I am so proud of how well he organized and lead the choir.

Day 188



We had plumbers come to work on our kitchen pipes. The pipes were filled with rust so they needed to be replaced. We celebrated their hard work by observing the water go down the sink quickly. It is the little things in life.



One of our church members dropped by and gave us a zucchini from his garden. It's huge! I am going to have to find a soup recipe for all these vegetables I have accumulated.

Puppies Be Crazy (175-181)

This week I took the PPR and passed with flying colors! I still have the Generalist, which I am taking this next week. It's a lot more challenging.

Day 175



We had a plumber come check out our kitchen sink/ dishwasher. After inspecting our roof, it was determined that our pipes have done their job of collecting rust and dust and they are ready to retire. I would throw a retirement party for them, but they have become disgruntled workers and do nothing for the company. It is time to be replaced by the young guys. Yes, this is a case of age discrimination.

Day 176



Aaron took me out on a celebration lunch to our favorite local restaurant for finishing the PPR. I am sufficiently spoiled.

Day 177



I try not to put the pictures that I post on Facebook on here; however, nothing exciting happened today so you are stuck seeing a repeat project of what I made out of a cereal box- my new mailbox!

Day 178



My dog had a much needed bath which was followed by her interpretation of the Macarena.

Day 179



The guest bathroom got a makeover courtesy of Dollar General. It is now rivaling the guest bedroom for my favorite room in the house. The master bedroom/bathroom has a long way to go to get to a room I don't mind showing off; however, that has to come after I get my front garden finished.

Day 180



A couple that goes to our church took us out for lunch at a steakhouse in Denver City, which is a town right next to Seagraves. Time passed quickly as we talked to them for a while. They took us for a tour, since we only came once to get groceries. The "Jesus statue" pictured above is on a Catholic building which is next to Denver City's football stadium; consequently, he is known as "touchdown Jesus."

Most of the churches of Seagraves get together every couple of months for a Ministerial Alliance to worship God. It was my first time going and I am really glad I went. The principal I will be working under was one of the song leaders. How many people can say that?

Day 181



About a month ago, Aaron and I found a pallet and a rusty saw. I finally put it to use by making a welcome sign. It took a really long time to cut through the wood with our less-than-efficient-saw, but we finally got it to a point where we could snap it in half. There was green paint in our shed that matched the shutters and I already had the "antique-white" paint I used for the letters. So there you go, a welcome sign for $0. You're welcome