Last Days of School

Andrew's last day of first grade was last Wednesday.  

I CANNOT believe he is finished with this school year.  It flew by!

Aiden still had school last Thursday and Today (Tuesday), so Andrew and I were able to enjoy a little one-on-one time.  I enjoyed hanging out with my sweet guy.  On Thursday, we went to the library and got some chapter books for him to read, picked out flowers for the backyard (he is REALLY into gardening and bird and lizard watching these days), and let him choose where we had lunch....his choice - Barbecue!  Then today (Tuesday), we met some friends at the local science museum while Aiden was at school.  I was thankful for this sweet time with my oldest.  He is so much fun to hang out with!

Today was Aiden's last day of 3K.  He is all decked out in his swim stuff because the last day is traditionally Splash Day!  He has been excited about this all year long....No kidding.

 

 

I was a bit emotional today because it was Aiden's last day at this particular preschool.  Andrew started going there right when we moved here and Aiden followed the next year.  We absolutely LOVE this preschool.  In fact, it is a complete God-story that we were even able to get in.  There is a huge waiting list....some people put their babies on the waiting list when they find out they are pregnant.  Crazy, I know!  We moved here when Andrew was in 4K.  I had been praying that God would just work out the preschool situation.  After asking around, I called and put our names on the list.  Knowing there was probably no way we would actually get in, we did not even go look at the school.  I trusted that even though we had NO IDEA we would be moving to this part of the country and therefore could not make early preparations for preschool, the Lord was completely in control and trusted that He would put us exactly where He wanted us.    Phillip and I went to see LOTS of preschools in town.  None of them felt "right."  After visiting one particular school, I came home and really felt discouraged.  Within the hour, our phone rang.  It was THE school, the one with the huge waiting list...they had an opening!  A little boy had to move with his family during the year and the spot was ours if we wanted it.  YES!  Wait, let us come see the school first.  We went the next day to tour and he started the following week.  Did GOD show He was in control or what???  The school was WONDERFUL for Andrew.  He was having a bit of a hard time with the move and school really helped him to transition.  He stayed there for Kindergarten and then Aiden started last year in two year olds and this year in three year olds.  We have LOVED every minute of it.  A perfect fit for our family.

 

  All that being said, next year Aiden will be joining Andrew at his school for 4K.  He will still just go two days a week, but he and Andrew will have the same pickup and drop off times - which will be awesome!  Plus, he will start on the curriculum they will be using for Kindergarten, including cursive.

 

I know it is the right thing to do (even though I asked Phillip last night at least a dozen times if we were doing the right thing!).  I just DON'T LIKE CHANGE!  That being said, I know it is part of God's plan.  I had a great conversation with the director of the preschool today.  She and I both got teary eyed as I thanked her for everything and let her know I was hanging by a thread today.  She shared that her children are college age and she doesn't like change either.  If it were left up to us, they would all stay in that little school until they were in their 20's...but that is not God's plan.  God has built change into the world and He keeps pushing us forward even when we want things to remain the same. 

 

I know that was long, but I wanted to document it so I would have a journal of it when I print our blog book because it IS such a cool God-story.  And I have friends with children around the same age or maybe a little younger, and maybe in some way it could encourage them.  I have said before, I have "smother-mother tendencies" but I am thankful that God pushes me out of my comfort zone to overcome these.

 

So, as I said, today was an emotional day.  Couple that with the fact that we were forecasted to have really bad weather, including tornadoes (those that know me know I HATE storms!), you can imagine I was a nervous nellie all day.

 

Thankfully, I only got teary eyed at the school and there were no out and out hysterics.  Also, the storms were not as severe as predicted and have all passed through now.

 

My sweet husband knew it was quite a day and came home with this:

 

My FAVORITE ice cream.  (They used to sell this on campus when I was in college.....I spent many Vanderbilt dollars on this!  I think my dad can still tell you how much it was per pint!)

After a bit of a draining day, it was good to spend some time with my old friends Ben and Jerry!