The Apple of My Eye

Today was Lily's first day of 1st grade! She was so very excited, but a little nervous too. When I tucked her in bed last night, she gave me a big hug and said, "I'm going to miss you tomorrow, Mommy!" It melted my heart! The kids and I had such a great summer together, and I was not looking forward to sending her off to school this morning. I knew I would miss her dearly! I have shed lots of tears, but have prayed for her and feel at peace knowing that God is always with her and is holding her in the palm of His hands. Here is Lily before we left the house wearing her new apple dress and watch: She was so proud of her new butterfly backpack: Her teacher's name is Mrs. Davis and 1st Grade's theme this year is "Wild About Learning." The hallways were decorated so cute. Here is Lily outside of her classroom door:Every morning that she arrives before 7:40am, she'll sit outside her classroom and choose some books to read while she is waiting. Reading is Lily's favorite thing to do, so she will be looking forward to that every morning. Unfortunately, parents weren't allowed in the classroom this morning so I don't have any pictures of her desk and room (very sad about that!), but when we visited last Friday, her room looked very warm and inviting and everything was neat and organized with everything in its place (my kind of teacher!) I know that God placed Lily where He thought was best for her and that she is going to have a great year. We love you, Lily, and can't wait to see all that you learn this year in 1st grade!

How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver! Proverbs 16:16

Lily's 1st Day in Kindergarten...

Tuesday was Lily's 1st day in Kindergarten. She was so excited to go and picked out a cute dress that would match her bracelet that Aunt Jonnelle made for her. She was also happy that she gets to bring her lunch this year in her new lunch box (which Daddy packed for her!) Maddy and I walked her in on her first day. Brickey's theme this year is Ocean of Readers and they had a cute banner hanging over the entrance to the school:The whole entire school is decorated in an ocean theme and the Kindergarten teachers all built a cute lifeguard chair that sits outside their classroom with their class name beside it. Lily's class is called: "Bounds' Barracudas." Here is a picture of Lily in front of the lifeguard chair outside her classroom: Mrs. Bounds has a "Welcome" mat outside of her door in which the kids can choose how they want to greet her in the morning when they first arrive. They can choose a hug, handshake, high five, or a smile. Here is Mrs. Bounds explaining the "Welcome" mat to Lily: Lily chose to greet Mrs. Bounds with a smile. Then she took Lily over to the carpet and taught her the silly song that they would be doing during morning group time: Mrs. Bounds wanted to read everyone a special story before the parents left, so she had the 5 children sit on the carpet and the parents sit on the chairs behind them. Lily did great! It was Mommy who had a hard time! I was holding it together until Mrs. Bounds read The Night Before Kindergarten. (For those of you who haven't read the book it is a cute poem about kids preparing for Kindergarten--packing school supplies, posing for pictures, and the hardest part-saying good-bye to mom and dad. But when the kids realize how fun Kindergarten really is, it is the parents who have trouble adjusting! At the end it shows a picture of all of the kids smiling and happy, and a picture of all the moms and dads crying at the end.) When Mrs. Bounds finished reading, she told all of the kids to turn around and give their moms a big, huge hug--so big that it will last all day. Lily turned around and squeezed me so very hard and whispered, "I love you, Mommy." It just melted my heart and it took all I had in me to stop the tears from flowing! She is such a sweet girl!

Lily had a great day and couldn't stop talking about all they did. She said that they sang silly songs, read stories, played on the playground, made a scuba diver and painted seaweed, wrote their ABC's and went on a bear hunt for the Brickey Bear. She is definitely looking forward to going back next Tuesday and learning new things!

Let us learn together what is good. Job 34:4

Last Day of Summer...

Can you believe that today is our last day of summer vacation? We had a busy and fun summer and now tomorrow two of my princesses start school. Lily will be going to Kindergarten at Brickey McCloud Elementary School. We first visited her new school during Kindergarten Roundup and she fell in love immediately! The school is only 5 years old, so it is the same age as Lily, and it is absolutely beautiful inside (a school teacher's dream!) Lily LOVES school (like her Mommy!) and is so very excited to start tomorrow. Since Kindergarten Roundup she has been asking daily, "How much longer until I go to Kindergarten?" This was back on April 1st, so needless to say she has been asking for a LONG time! We had "Meet the Teacher" on Sunday and she got to meet her teacher, Mrs. Bounds. I was so thrilled when we got her Kindergarten letter in the mail and saw Mrs. Bounds was going to be her teacher. I taught first grade with her at Powell Elementary and she transferred to Brickey right when it opened. She is a wonderful teacher and a very strong Christian, so we couldn't be happier! Lily enjoyed exploring her new classroom. Knox County staggers their Kindergarten students so Lily will be going on Tuesdays for 2 weeks, and then she will go full time (Mon.-Fri. 7:45 am - 1:00 pm) starting on August 25th. Mrs. Bounds does "home visits" where she visits each child at their home before school begins to get to know them better and make them feel more comfortable. She will be visiting Lily tonight at 6:00. Lily's eyes got real big when I told her about the home visit, and she can't believe that her teacher is actually coming to her house!
Maddy will be going to West Hills Baptist Church Preschool tomorrow for her first day of preschool. She will be in the 3's on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm. She has 2 teachers: Mrs. Elder and Mrs. Houk. Lily had Mrs. Elder when she was in the 3's and we were very happy with her. Mrs. Houk (Amy) is one of my very best friends. We also taught 1st grade together at Powell Elementary and our oldest daughters are just 6 weeks apart. This will be Amy's 1st job since she had her 3 children. Maddy is so lucky to have her as one of her teachers. She is an excellent teacher and very loving. Maddy is very excited about starting tomorrow, since she has been asking to go to school since she turned three.
I will be all ready with my camera tomorrow. It will be exciting watching 2 of my girls go off to school, and I will make sure to get lots of pictures. Say some prayers for my girls and that they will have a great first day of school and that God will calm any nerves they might have.
The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. Hebrews 13:6