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

Pioneer Women (167-174)

Day 167

I have found this bread making kit at our grocery store. It is really easy and I get to pretend that I am an awesome baker for making bread. I had it sitting out to rise three times longer than the directions called for, which resulted in a giant monstrosity of the wheat variety.

Day 168

Today, we had a haboob. For you non-West Texans, a haboob is basically a sandstorm. I remember my freshmen year of college I looked up and I couldn't figure out why the sky was orange. Oh, us non-natives are a riot.

Day 169

We have been having problems with our plumbing in the kitchen. The dishwasher can't clean the dishes because the junk from the sink gets all over the dishes. The sink takes an hour to drain and the disposal is a total pain. Cleaning dishes is an adventure in itself.

Day 170

Aaron's mom is finishing up her masters degree and is taking some classes in Lubbock over the summer, so Aaron and I took a day trip up there to see her and Aaron's dad. We finally got a tag for Lucy (the dog) and some food bowls. Poor thing has been eating out of one of my dishes and a lid.

Day 171

I have two tests coming up so I can finally be a certified teacher. I have been studying like crazy and am trying not to think about how important they are so I don't get too stressed. Oh goodness, I wish I was a better test taker.

Day 172

We had a work day moving all of the pews so we can get new carpet laid down. I skipped out of that one so I could study more.

Day 128

Sorry you get a boring picture of fries I made.I love cooking, which is good because there aren't a lot of restaurants in this town.

Hit the Road, Jack(160-166)

Day 160

In my effort to cook healthier things, I decided to bring fish into the mix. It was discovered by both me and the hubs that we are not fans of salmon. At all.

Day 161

We had a work day for VBS. I started out painting letters so I wouldn't mess things up too much, but then I got put in charge of building a roller coaster.

Day 162

We had a ladies' potluck luncheon at the church today and I got to meet one of my neighbors. I brought fudge, which the little kids really loved. I am sure I wasn't the cause for the kids' endless running around the church.

Day 163

We discovered that one of my favorite activities of running over screws is not good for the tire. So Aaron took off work to get the tire patched and the car bent the jack causing it to fall on the axle, being too low to the ground for us to put another jack under. Fortunately, we are AAA members. They had to use a tow truck to lift our car up enough to put a tire on. We finally got on the road for the weekend anniversary trip Aaron planned.

Day 164

We had fun checking off some places from a guidebook of strange places to visit in Texas. We left the book at home so we only managed to go to Buddy Holly-ville and the Silent Wings museum (not found in the book, but still interesting). It was a lot of fun and it was nice to get away.

Day 165

Today was baby dedication Sunday and the youth talked about their trip to camp. I love to see youth passionate about Christ. It brings a lot of hope.

Day 166

Our small town doesn't deliver mail so we have to go to the post-office. We got a sweet anniversary letter from Aaron's Mimi and Pawpaw and some things from my mom. I love snail-mail. I wish I was better at actually writing letters.

Commontater (155-159)

Short post today! So here is a joke Aaron had to explain to me:

The big city reporter did not impress the Idaho potato farmer, after all he was just a commentator.

Day 155




I am a pretty good cook. I am really good at following recipes and I am good at improvising because I know what things taste good together; however, potatoes are my Achilles' heal. I have tried baked, mashed, fries, chips, soups, and even instant. They never turn out right. Well, my friends I am overly-proud to say that I have made the perfect baked potato. This household is now going to have "Potato Thursdays" every week.


Day 156



Aaron and I went into another town to buy groceries from a store we received a gift card for from the pounding the church gave us. Because the store was just built, it didn't show up on our maps and we thought we would have to drive into New Mexico. Fortunately we found it along the way and I think I am going to be a regular costumer there. Using the gift card, we got over a week's worth of groceries for $26.

Day 157



After a day of lounging around, Aaron and I got a visit from a Kirby salesman. We got a free air freshener and clean carpets out of the deal. We have a Kirby from the '50's that the salesman took pictures of. I gave them some tea. I am not really sure what the protocol is but it seemed polite, especially since they cleaned my carpet for an hour and I had no intention of buying a $1400 vacuum.

Day 158



Aaron, the puppy, and I had fun in the backyard. We played "rushing the passer" where Aaron and I would try to throw the ball before Lucy touched us. She was running back and forth, trying to catch that football. We wore her out.

Day 159



After all the excitement yesterday, my phone decided she didn't want to come inside. She wanted to spend the night outside watching the stars.