Workin' 9 to... 3?

Here are few more interesting tid bits about life in a small town:

1. The bank closes at 3. What's up with that? Now, that I'm teaching, I don't know when I will get to go to the bank. Good thing I have direct deposit! Man, 9 - 3. What a life!

2. Businesses take IOUs. Today I went to get my toes painted, but of course they dont take debit or credit, and I did not have any cash or a checkbook. She told me just to come back tomorrow.

3. Football is King. Wednesday night church doesn't even start until 7:30 for high schoolers because so many of them are still in football practice.

Tonight Trent and I attended the youth classes at church because we hope to get involved in the youth program there. There were just as many junior high kids in class tonight as there are junior high kids at my huge church in San Antonio. Since Olton is such a small town, kids are just looking for something to do...and luckily church is about the only thing that provides activities for youth. And the best part is - half of them are not even Christians! Talk about a ministry! This stuff just gets me excited!

Kids Rock

So I complete my second day of teaching 5th grade today. I'm pooped! I love my students though. Like I've said before, most of them just need LOVE! Both of my team teachers are Christians, so we have started out our days praying together. Does this only happen in small towns?

Well, here is something that I think is pretty special: the church that we have been attending has started a new program on Tuesdays after school. They are gathering all of the kids in K - 6 (that have parent permission of course) and walking them over to their youth building. After a snack, the kids are rallied into a room to sing along with wild and crazy VBS-type songs, and then shared a short message of the gospel. KIDS ROCK is the name. Today I did the "Superman", the "Water Sprinkler", the "Robot", and the "Invisible Hoola Hoop". It was SUH-WEET!

Hopefully the popularity of this program will grow because there is a need for children in the community to learn more about Jesus. For a lot of the kiddos, we are the only Jesus they will encounter.

Praise God for silly songs with goofy hand motions!

Not Just Salamanders

It's amazing the new discoveries that are being made in my backyard every day! I mentioned the wildlife in this part of the world, and for the most part I was being sarcastic, but I am being proved wrong. There are critters here that I have never seen unless there were in a cage or aquarium on display somewhere.

Yesterday, a new creature was tucked away on our back porch. It was the cutest little furry creature I've ever seen. It had little bitty feet, and a little bitty tail, and little bitty ears. It was rolled into a little ball against the wall and too timid to look around at the large giants hovering over its little bitty body.

Yep, it was a ..... mouse. But the cutest little mouse I have ever seen! I wanted to keep him and name him. Harley found him later and thought it was one of his toys, so Trent felt obliged to fling that mouse over the fence to save it from a horrible death: being eaten by Harley. However, I fear that its life may have come to an end upon hitting the ground after its flight through the air. May that cute mouse rest in peace.

One other brilliant discovery made yesterday: we have a peach tree in our yard! I did not know this, but yesterday there were peaches on the ground and blooming all over the tree's branches. I tasted one - yummy! Peach cobbler anyone?

Not Just Snakes

New wildlife was spotted today in our backyard. If you know me, you know I'm terrified of lizards. It's ok if I see one, as long as it's not near me or able to jump on me. As a matter of fact, I don't really like any critter that has the ability to jump and land on me - hence the grasshopper incident of 2008. (April knows what I'm talking about!)



Well, today I spotted a lizard...but not just any lizard. This lizard was not very big, maybe about five inches long, and it was skinny - much like the green lizards we have in San Antonio. But this lizard was not green!

It was also the first day back to school for all the new teachers. One thing that is unique about a small town is that the local churches are sponsoring the teachers' lunches for the next week. Today the Methodist church fed us a great spread of fresh corn, ocra, green beans, squash and tomatoes. We also had potatoes, roast beef, ham, stuffed green peppers, deviled eggs, spinach casserole, and a whole lot more. There was banana pudding, brownies, and an assortment of pies for dessert!

There was a prayer before lunch and a prayer after lunch. There were also several door prizes donated by local businesses.

I can't wait til lunch on Monday!

Outside of Earth

When you live in Earth, sometimes you just want to get out of Earth for a while. Trent and I took a day trip to Amarillo to visit with our friends Kara and Luke. They were nice enough to take the day off to show us some of the highlights of Amarillo. And of course you can not visit Amarillo without seeing Cadillac Ranch!

Nice Legs! The man who created Cadillac Ranch had some other interesting pieces of Art in Amarillo, such as these:

We finished out the day with a great burger at Blue Sky. If you are ever in Amarillo, grab a bite to eat there. It was very tasty. Now I leave you with this: a view from our front porch. Sometimes it's hard for some people to see the beauty in Earth. However, today I captured what Earth looks like when a storm is rolling in...pure beauty.

Why is THAT in My Garage?

Welcome to Earth, where snakes like to hang out in your garage...and husbands seem to be nowhere around when you need them most!

So I had to call Trent's dad to come get the snake. Turns out that it was just a garder snake, but the garder snakes in San Antonio are about the size of an earth worm. This was no normal sized garder snake to me. Bleh!

Attack of the Killer Okra

Have you ever seen ocra like this?

I'm used to the weenie ocra at Souper Salad!

They reminded me of witch fingers.

What's coming up in Earth:

Tonight (Friday) - Fish Fry at the Wolverine

Saturday - Day trip to Amarillo (our mini vacation)

to meet up with my good friend Kara Deal and her husband, Luke.

Come back soon to see pictures of our upcoming weekend!

Picture This!

How to have fun in Earth:

Shave a mohawk.

Marvel at the wildlife (not pictured: birds, jackrabbits, snake)

Rock out on Rock Band

Go to the Earth Rodeo

Enter the popular cow milking competition.

Enjoy the West Texas sunset.

Shuck some corn.

Wash some corn.

That's a whole lotta corn!

Compete in a potato sack race.

Cut some corn.

Hang out with your good lookin' hubby.

Church and Sunday Eating

Trent and I visited church in Olton yesterday. We actually really enjoyed it. I think we will visit there again. The church is not too big, but seems to have a larger group of younger attendees and more activities to get involved in. However, one of the appeals of going to church where his parents go is that they really don't have much going on, especially for younger people, and therefore we see a need there for people who are interested and willing to take the bull by the horns and get the ball rolling. Trent and I are willing to do that, but we also have the need of being fed spiritually and finding a group of people we can actually hang out with!

So with that being said, we will visit Olton a few more times and be in prayer about our decision as to where the Lord wants us.

Now, a lot of folks like to enjoy a meal out after church on Sunday mornings (or afternoon actually). So in Olton, Trent took me to a really nice restaurant. It's really the only restaurant that exists in Olton, or at least the only one that is open on Sunday. Are you ready for this?
Trent took me to DAIRY QUEEN! If you don't like going to church on Sunday, at least you have lunch to look forward to!

One Oreo Blizzard Please!