First Day of School 2014-15: Kinder & 2nd Grade

Well, our first day is already over and was a success! 

The day started bright and early (like 12:30am early) when Sam came into my room crying and upset about the "fort" in his bed falling apart. After much discussion, I finally asked him to crawl in bed with me and go back to sleep. Maddie woke shortly before 6, excited and unable to go back to sleep. She joined us in the bed until we all rolled out about 6:30.

Sam & Maddie with their teachers' flowers. The lightbulbs say, "Can't wait to grow BRIGHTER in Kinder/2nd Grade this year!" It was Maddie's idea to take flowers on the first day. :)

My big girl! All set for her first day of Second Grade, in a 2/3 split with Mrs. Buhler. Maddie is thankful this year to have several friends in class, five or six girls from her Summer softball team!

Sam's first picture pretty much sums up his morning, as well as the attempt at school pictures:

Little Buddy was pretty nervous and was having a hard time channeling all that nervous energy into anything besides whining, asking to stay home repeatedly, and running around like a crazy person.

When we got to school, Maddie gave us the shove-off, letting me know she'd be "fine" and to take Sam to Kindergarten. :) He was pretty unsure about the whole thing:

The parents were able to stay for 20 minutes, and thankfully by the end of our classroom tour and after playing with some unifix cubes, Sam was ready for me to go. He gave me a kiss and headed straight for the carpet when Mrs. Dennis rang the bell.

I'm really grateful for the kids' placements this year. Mrs. Dennis couldn't be any sweeter. She is totally warm and loving and nurturing, just the kind of person Sam needs. She gave him a big hug and talked so sweetly to him at the end of school today. She told him, "Thanks for being such a sweet boy in class!"

Maddie's teacher also told me how "sweet" she was. Couldn't ask for any better compliments about my kiddos! Looking forward to another great year as Sycamore Sharks!

everyday grace

Today I found grace in the most unlikely of places: an AT&T service call and Safeway. Specifically, I talked grace, marriage, love and psychology with a customer service representative and got to see my girl experience grace from a grocery store checker.

Our first day of Summer vacation started with fighting. A lot of fighting. Two big kids who are having a real hard time trying to negotiate spending all day together. Vying for attention. Selecting games to play and movies to watch. Choosing what to eat. By 10:30 this morning I was tired of getting involved in the minor skirmishes and ready to put everyone in a long time out.

So we packed up the car and headed to the park. The baby fell asleep in his carseat and I watched from the parked car as the kids ran to explore a new playground. I pulled out my AT&T bill, prepared myself for battle, and sighed as I started to dial the phone. "Lord help me," I exhaled, as I made a mental list of all the reasons I should be angry and justified in my frustrations. 

And the Lord answered my prayer. My puny, self-centered, frustrated cry for help landed me on the phone with Amy, customer service rep at AT&T, and by far the nicest service person with whom I've ever had the pleasure of spending an hour and a half on the phone. Not only did she fix all the problems, but saved us money and waived a major installation fee ($99!) As I waited for everything to get cleared, we had the opportunity to talk about God's grace on my marriage and the Spirit's work in enabling Ben and I to be happily married fourteen years in. We talked about the importance of spending time with kids and God's grace in allowing me the time at home with my little monkeys. She complimented my patience and kind words with my kids who constantly interrupted the phone call. She shared her own hopes of putting her psychology degree to work one day, maybe even doing marriage counseling like Ben and I have the honor of walking through in this season of our lives with members of our church.

God took a potentially major frustration of my day and turned it right around into one of the highlights.

Then I had to take all three kids to the grocery store. Not exactly my idea of a good time. Maddie had brought along her own wallet, jammed full of change and dollar bills, and picked out a brightly colored stuffed bear from the floral department to purchase. We talked about the cost of the bear ($5) and the size of her savings, the fact she has several other stuffed animals, etc. (essentially trying to talk her out of spending her money). Her strong will and oral argument skills prevailed and I decided to let her spend her money.

At the checkout, the grocery store clerk asked us several questions about our day, shared about his own kids, and tried to talk Maddie out of buying the bear! "Do you really need another stuffed animal?" he asked. Maddie replied, "My mom is allowing me to spend my own money as I see fit." The bear didn't have a price and he tried multiple scans before calling over a manager for an override. The fee: $1. The sweet man purposely gave Maddie a considerable discount, making her promise to come back and tell him the name she had chosen for her bear.

Today God chose to extend grace in the most unlikely of places. It turned my frustrating day into a marvelous encounter with the divine. I'm so grateful for a God who shows up in the everyday, mundane tasks and shows me his everyday, marvelous love.