This year has held a number of firsts for our family by the grace of God. Here are a few images and reflections for your enjoyment...
Tuesday was "Meet the Teachers" day in our school district. I laughed as I journaled yesterday at how I 'thought' the day would go and how it 'actually' went... It was a wonderful time of meeting teachers, but some of the logistical things prolonged the experience creating quite an exhaustion amongst us all. My sweet friend, Christy, took two of my girls home with her to minimize the stress of day. Victoria and Jana had a blast playing with their new friends, Price and Wyatt...
Nothing like popsicles in the Mississippi heat...
Jumping for joy after leaving crowds of people, lines of waiting and diminishing hunger pangs...
Meanwhile, I enjoyed sweet fellowship with just James and Angela. We had begun our campus travels at 9 AM and ended at 1:30 PM for lunch at El Rancho... I love that they love chips and salsa! The races continued as we finished eating. It was off to pick up the girls... running home to change clothes... off again to James' FIRST day of gymnastics... off to take the girls to swim... off to pick up James from gymnastics (which, by the way he loved and is surprisingly - to him that is - sore!)... then off to join the girls with friends Amy, Kelly & Barry for swimming and dinner...
Wednesday was primarily a day of rest. I dubbed it the 'calm before the storm'... ha ha. We all lounged around which was quite nice. Well, that was until my cell phone decided to quit working! It is frightening how dependent I am upon that thing! Late afternoon we loaded up to visit the AT&T store, much to no avail. I had told the kids we would get ice cream afterwards UNLESS they touched something. Their love for ice cream is a wonderful reward system. :) They were fantastic! So, off we went around the corner to Cold Stone! To humor you, I took note of what they each picked out - all of which looked disgusting to me. Of course, they loved it!
James had cheesecake ice cream with white chocolate chips...
Angela had cotton candy ice cream with M&Ms...
Jana had pink lemonade ice cream with sprinkles...
Victoria had chocolate ice cream with gummy bears...
I enjoyed a few laughs as they ate. Victoria, especially, made me laugh as she attempted to chew the gummy bears after being mixed with the cold ice cream! THEN, it was time to brave Walmart the first time with all four! I have to brag a moment - they were FABULOUSLY behaved and helpful! God then graciously provided friend, Carrie Burks, to 'run into' who had a spare GO phone for me to use temporarily! [Sidenote: I've lost all my contact information... If you text me or call I won't know who you are initially - so don't be offended if I reply, "Who are you?"... AND I cannot call you at present because I no longer have your number... just an FYI :)]
We returned home to chicken tortellini as our 'pre-game' supper. The kids were so excited the eve of school starting...
We had fun picking out clothes for their first day and dancing around with joy over opportunities to experience new things and meet new friends...
The time for school finally arrived (bright and early I might add)... I kissed them all awake and they were dressed, teeth brushed, beds made, bananas eaten, backpacks on in less than 30 minutes!
James' first day of 4th grade...
Angela's first day of 2nd grade...
Jana's first day of 1st grade...
Victoria's first day of Kindergarten...
Our four blessings off to their first day of school...
I have to praise God for another blessing, that of dear friend, Amy Thornton. She transported James and Angela to their school to assure they made it on time for their first day. No one had tears of fear. In fact, they barely said goodbye to me... which eased any of my thoughts of great insecurity on their part. Praying for them and their teachers today... May the peace of Christ Jesus reign in their hearts and minds today... may His peace reign in your hearts too... This song by Steven Curtis Chapman based on Psalm 46 has been in my head these past 24 hours...
Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is holy
Be still oh restless soul of mine
Bow before the prince of Peace
Let the noise and clamor cease
Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is faithful
Consider all that He has done
Stand in awe and be amazed
And know that He will never change
Be still
Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is God
Be still
Be speechless
Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know He is our Father
Come rest your head upon His breast
Listen to the rhythm of
His unfailing heart of love
Beating for His little ones
Calling each of us to come
Be still
Be still
5 comments:
Praying for all of you. All I can say is . . . God is good. We as followers of Christ have different stories but the same lessons and relationship to build with Christ and then to share with our sphere of influence. I'm sure your mom will shed a tear of joy as she remembers your first day! I love how you are embracing each day with your children. It will go quite fast and you won't realize it until you have "survived". I too am still experiencing changes and "firsts", so the reminder to BE STILL is always so appropriate. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. I'll pray that they will continue to be excited about all that God has for them to learn!
I think cheescake icecream with white choc. sounds good!
So glad the kids did well with their first day. I think I was more nervous for the kids than they were. You did great mom!
Kimberly - what an exciting day! You are a great mom. I'm so impressed that you had four small children ready for school in 30 minutes! I can't get two middle schoolers and one kindergartner ready that fast. Ha. We will pray for the children and their teachers as they transition into American school. I hope they make lots of new friends and that the language barrier will continue to diminish. I continue to enjoy reading your blog everyday so don't stop!!
Kim I prayed for the Kids this morning. and I am glad to see there were no tears. I wish there were not so many miles between us, so that I could be more involved, but I always think about you guys, and really enjoy this blog and the pictures. Love, Mamaw
(momma B)
Kimberly,
I think the first two days of school went really well! I would love to know what James thought! James found his way to the room all by himself this morning and even asked (more of a point) to use the restroom. At lunch time he even joked around with me. I told him that it was time for lunch and to get his lunch box. He grinned and said "no". I asked him are you going to eat, he grinned and shook his head no. Next thing I knew he was at his backpack and his lunch was in hand! I am SO very excited for this school year and I want to say to you... Thank you for the privilege of getting to teach James!!
HUGS! Stephanie Ross (Mrs. Ross)
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