Denver bound

Earlier in the week I registered for the last two tests I need to take to be certified to teach in Illinois.  I have to take them on the same day (February 11), two of those awful tests on the same day.  I'm not worried about the actual tests but I have the hardest time sitting through one test. Me with the attention span of a goldfish. (I googled the shortest attention span and a goldfish was the best answer :) Seriously though...I have NO attention span.  And I have to sit through about 8 hours of testing.  Please, start praying for me now and a lot!  I'll get through it. I will. And then I'll beg  Jason to plan something fun (AKA a romantic dinner celebrating Valentines Day) so I can have something to look forward to and then unwind at.  :)

So this afternoon teaching certification state tests were fresh on the brain and for some odd reason (of course I believe it was God), I decided to look into the testing dates in CO.  (There is only one test I need to take in CO as opposed to the THREE that I have to take in IL...woooohoo!) Well I quickly learned that one is in March when I have a class for student teaching that I was warned by my professor that I could not miss and the other is in June when I planned to come back to Chicago for my graduation and to see friends and family and especially to meet my future niece or nephew who will hopefully be born or or around the time I will be home.  So of course I could not be in CO at either of those testing days.  Illinois has test dates every other month...the plan was to to get to Colorado beginning in April.  Going according to Illinois's schedule, I figured that would leave me 2 opportunities to take a test...I mean I have NOTHING planned once I get to Colorado so I was pretty sure I could easily fit in the certification test.  However, that isn't the plan for Colorado...they have only 5 tests a year and they aren't being offered at the time I hope to be living there and before I'd need to have my score back to be a teacher in August.  So after freaking out for about five minutes I went back to the website and realized that the test was being offered next Saturday and that I needed to register by 5:00 today. (I was looking into this at about 3:00). Jason helped me look into airfare, hotels and car rentals and after some quick praying (and some serious anxiety) we decided I should go next weekend to (hopefully) get it it over with and still be able to come back to Chicago in June.  (Do I need to explain how badly I want to walk at my graduation...and now HAVE to be here to see my future niece/nephew...and well...just be back in Chicago with friends and family).  

So I'm going to Colorado next weekend.  It's costing us way more than we can afford right now, but I know God will provide.  Being that I have extreme test anxiety as it is, I'm really worried that the pressure will be on next Saturday...I mean we're only spending an arm and a leg for me to get this over and done with, but I'm praying that I'll feel a sense of peace and comfort as I take it.  I'm looking forward to having this test over and PASSED.  Maybe once we move there I can find a job right away and it will all pay off to have my certification under my belt. :)