Test anxiety no more!

Finally...I can say, without reservation, I'm so glad to have completed the TExES Generalist EC-6 examination this morning. I was nervous about this one. My dedication and committment to studying was non-existent (to put it nicely) but, somehow, I feel good about the test. I don't want to jinx myself, but I should receive the official test scores in three weeks. Let the countdown begin...just for grins, this is one of my favorite test taking images ever. If you know me well enough, you know my thoughts on math are similar to this image. I crack up everytime!

I'm dog-tired and neither Kevin or I slept well last night. We are at his parent's house in Emory and arrived yesterday evening because I knew I had to get up early and be in Commerce before 7:30 am. I am always nervous about my alarm not going off, so that kept me from sleeping. But I could not get comfortable in their guest bed. One, it's smaller (queen size and I'm used to a king), harder (my bed is pillowtop), and they keep their A/C set on 80 degrees. This fat girl (that would be ME) can't sleep when she's hot!!!!!

Needless to say, Kevin and I both will sleep very well tonight when we're home and in our own bed. In the meantime, I'm checking emails, updating Facebook and blogging at the in-laws' on their snazzy computer! My hubby, his brother and Dad are all outside unloading implements that bought at the auction earlier today. Boys and their toys....and all I got was a sweet tea from Sonic (yay!!).

Adios amigos, I'm ready to head westward to Josh-u-way!!!

A semi-productive day

Studying for the TExES content exam is not going very well. My motivation level is non-existent and there's so many other things I'd rather be doing:

COOKING - I made tacos for Kevin, but I tried P.F. Chang's take-home menu frozen entree. The shrimp lo mein was good, but I added extra seasoning. The veggies were crunchy, the sauce was tasty, but the shrimp were on the small size. The packaging said two servings, but I ate the entire thing. I didn't eat lunch, so I was hungry!

SHOPPING - I realized over the weekend that the bag with my dirty clothes from mission trip was thrown away. No worries, I'll buy more t-shirts! Unfortunately, my favorite pants were in there. Those pants were awesome, known as my "paint pants" for the various shades of paint on them. I didn't do any clothes shopping today (eww, I don't want more clothes!), but I did go to Target and get really cute thank-you cards and invitations for the youth group. I get excited by the most ridiculous items!

STUDYING - Yes, I have been reading the study manual. It's difficult for me to study content areas that do not interest me. I truly, and honestly, do not have any desire to teach some of these subjects. This frustration is leading to my less-than-stellar study attempts. But this content exam is not optional, so I have to get serious about it and try my best. I love having a big front porch, great views, and a comfy lounge chair for my "study room" outside. Of course I'm getting some awkward tan lines. I noticed earlier that I left my flip-flops on and have the outline of the shoes on my feet.

There are other things I'd rather be doing too:

• chase Cameron
• visit Disneyland with Kim
• cuddle Avery Lynn
• pick veggies from Dad's garden
• read "Committed" for Busy Woman's Book Club
• watch Kevin rope
• vacation in Colorado

While in Oklahoma City last week for mission trip, I saw the street sign above. It made me miss Kentucky even more. I'm looking forward to my trip "home" next month. Eight months is TOO LONG to be away from my family and loved ones. Kelby promised me a dinner at The Feedmill...and I'm going to make him keep that promise. I'm hoping our little brother, Kaleb, will join us. I miss my Tapp brothers.

Power tools + songs about llamas + cold showers + Miss Patsy = AWESOME TRIP TO OKLAHOMA CITY!!!

Let me just say that sleeping in your own bed ROCKS after you've slept on a cot for a week...but man, my first mission trip was AWESOME!!!!!

Genesis Youth Group departed FUMC Joshua on Sunday, June 13 headed for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Bob and I were ready to go, unfortunately the other 13 trip-goers could not fit on the Harley....darn. Not only was this my first mission trip, it was also the first time I had been to OK. I got to cross the Red River, yeah baby!

My home-away-from-home for the week was Asbury UMC. It was an older church, but full of hospitality for 81 youth and adults coming to do the work of Jesus Christ. Our group took showers on-campus at Oklahoma City University. The facilities were nice, except the water heater exploded (literally!) on Monday. You guessed it - we had FREEZING COLD showers all week. I slept on a borrowed cot in a Sunday School room with another adult and seven youth girls. We laughed and giggled every night like teenage girls - - oh wait, they are!!!

On Monday, there came a flood (literally!) to OKC and the living center was put under lock-down by CTCYM for everyone's safety. Parts of OKC were without power and multiple inches of rain fell every hour. Fortunately, at the living center, we had continuous power and no standing water. As servants of God, we continued our mission by becoming VAPOR and doing God's work right where we were: at Asbury UMC. We cleaned every square inch of the church, including the fellowship hall, gymnasium, kitchen, nursery, and sanctuary. Each work team was assigned a different area of the church, my group had the lower level including the nursery and toddler room, where Kaitlyn and I disinfected every toy within sight. I think the bleach water was affecting our senses because we were having WAY TOO MUCH FUN!!!! After the nursery and toddler room were clean and spotless, a couple of youth decided to have a toy car race down the hall. I almost wet my pants laughing so hard.

I promise this mission trip had some work involved. Actually, it had a lot of work involved but you can work for the Lord and praise Him with a smile too. Believe me, I left several gallons of sweat in the Sooner State.....hahaha!

One of these days I'll have to teach everyone "The Llama Song," it's really cute and very clever. I performed it in front of Kevin and he looked at me like I had lost my mind.....he's probably right!

We had multiple projects to complete for her: replace one side of her fence, construct a new porch cover, build a wheelchair ramp, repair the back door, and replace the fence gate. With the downpour of rain on Monday, the yard was more like a pond and rubber boots were the only option.

My work team (go Team 8) was amazing and our client, Miss Patsy, was an angel. Patsy suffers from MS but lives alone and gets around very slowly with a walker. Her speech is severely impaired but her smile is incredible. Though her vocal communication was almost zero, she connected emotionally with everyone on Team Eight. The light in her eyes was magical, and her spirit was filled with gratitude. She is such a blessing and someone I will stay in contact with for a very long time.

It's difficult to condense a week's worth of blessings and mission work into just a few photos but I'll be working on a photo album in the coming weeks to keep at the church. But here are the projects completed by Team 8 this week:

What an amazing week. Truly, it is a blessing to serve as the youth director for FUMC Joshua and I had a great time with this group of awesome youth and adults on this mission trip. I've already signed up for the 2011 mission trip! I encourage anyone - I'm talking to YOU! - to consider participating on a mission team. You will be blessed beyond your wildest dreams.

To Genesis Youth Group: you guys rock. I love you and I'm so incredibly proud to be your youth director. You served God's people with a smile and accomplished great things in OKC.

BABY TIME!!!!!!!

Nicole and Avery Lynn

I spent the better part of the day with Lindsey and her new bundle of joy, Avery Lynn. She's precious, precious, precious. Did I mention how precious and adorable and cute and cuddly she is?!?!

Avery Lynn

As soon as I arrived, Avery was ready for her bottle. I'm always ready to feed a baby! Mom makes good groceries because it didn't take long until the milk disappeared. A good burp and Avery was ready for some retail therapy. Actually, Lindsey was starving so we went to Chick-fil-A to get her some lunch and then to Target. Afterwards, back at their house, it was time for some "Aunt Co" snuggle time.

Avery is a super cuddle bug. She loves to be swaddled but I kept her out of a blanket and she nestled right into my chest and fell right to sleep. Babies seem to like my "pillows" and Avery was snug as a bug in a rug and slept for a couple of hours while Lindsey and I talked and laughed. It's so good to have friends with babies - such blessings!

Avery at 2 weeks

In case you've forgotten already, Avery is a bundle of precious-ness. Did you notice the hair? She's got more hair at three weeks than Kevin has seen in all his 33 years!!!! She's got a serious head of hair. Lindsey took a great shot of Avery and I, but I'll have to wait and post that when I get it. I can't wait to share though. (*smiles*)

Memorial Day Weekend: RANDOM!!!!

Just reading my last blog post makes me laugh, I'm such a goof-ball sometimes....I'm totally over my pity party and enjoying my blessed life. Memorial Day weekend was random but a blast. It all started on Friday:

I subbed at South Hills Elementary in Fort Worth for Ms. A's 4th grade class and it was Field Day, which meant we would be "chillaxing" (my new word for chilling and relaxing) and soaking up the A/C and watching movies before going to lunch and then spending the rest of the afternoon outside on the playground. Did I mention that it is almost summer, but the 95-plus temperatures are already in North Texas? It was H-O-T at Field Day, but so much fun. My class won two rounds of tug-o-war and I'm so proud of them. Unfortunately, they were eliminated by one of the 5th grade classes, but they put up a fine struggle!!!!!! Did I mention it was HOT at Field Day? I just wanted to make sure I got that point across.....it was HOT.

Oh - I also got to visit with the second graders in Mrs. R's and Mrs. Y's classes, I was a long-term substitute for Mrs. R back in December and all the kiddos remembered Miss H (that's me!) and yelled and screamed and jumped and were oh-so-excited when I walked into the cafeteria. That was such a joyous moment, I felt so loved. (*smile*)

After spending most of the day outside in the HOT temperatures celebrating Field Day, I spent the evening on the golf course with the Swaney's playing in the couples' scramble at Mountain Valley Country Club in Burleson. Let me tell you - - it was AWESOME! I had such a great time, met many wonderful folks, and ate a fabulous fish dinner afterwards. Our team placed fourth, we won $12, and Phyllis and I got to share the big winnings. The cherry on my sundae: I birdied the last hole all by myself. I'm starting to enjoy this game again, watch out! Seriously.....I'm ready to start playing regularly again.

Kevin left for East Texas while I was playing golf, so I was a "bachelorette" most of Saturday. But I took full advantage of having the day to myself by going to Sam's for ice cream supplies and even did a little "retail therapy" at Kohl's and bought me an awesome, over-sized, anti-gravity lounge chair that I absolutely adore. However, mine is much more awesome because it has a CUPHOLDER on the side!!!!!!!

Sunday was a full day at FUMC Joshua celebrating the Russo's service and remembering Memorial Day. The youth group hosted a Fifth "Sundae" Social and served ice cream sundaes in the afternoon. More than 50 people attended; it was a big success that I hope and pray will continue to grow.

Yesterday (Monday), Kevin and I spent the morning in a vegetable state. We woke up at 9:30 only to go back to bed at 11:00 for a two-hour nap...Seriously! We were both worn out and it felt great to sleep and relax and do nothing. We did a couple of errands and then went to the Monajami's for dinner. Friends of their's came too, with their two kids, and it was a rockin' party.

Kevin became the fourth child in the mix and had a blast. He taught Sydney how to play a card game and then caught her cheating when suddenly she was winning every hand! Cameron and Jake spent most of the time beating on each other only to run to their Mom for a kiss and return as best buddies. Finally, 'Uncle Kebbie' became the "time out chair" and had Cameron and Jake sitting on his lap. Kids are awesome - they are such funny creatures!!!!

Today was a great day too. After staff meeting (where we all sat cross-legged in the chairs because a snake had been seen in the building but was still "loose" as far as we knew), I went to the grocery to get everything I need to make a feast for the Hartman family. They welcomed a new baby girl to their family last Friday and it was a joy to make their dinner. I did a traditional Southern feast: fried pork chops, peach/tomato salsa, extra-cheesy-mac-n-cheese, green bean casserole, cole slaw, and brownies. I hope they enjoy it!

Snake update: it was never found inside the building.......but I'm watching my every step!!!!!